US Vice President Mike Pence said “all options are on the table” to pressure the DPRK to abandon its nuclear weapons and missile program.
Pence visited the US Army military base in South Korea near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) with the DPRK on Monday, a day after a DPRK missile test failed.
The vice president expressed impatience with the DPRK's refusal to get rid of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. He said the "era of strategic patience " with Pyongyang is over.
According to AFP, Pence arrived at Camp Bonifas, a US-led United Nations command post just a few hundred meters south of the DMZ, by helicopter on Monday morning.
Pence will reportedly attend a briefing with military leaders and meet with American troops as part of his three-day tour of South Korea.
While attending an Easter dinner at the Yongsan US Army Garrison in Seoul after arriving in South Korea on Sunday, Pence called the DPRK’s failed missile test a “provocation”.
Pence held a press conference Monday afternoon after a meeting with South Korea’s Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn.
US Vice President Mike Pence (C) and his wife Karen Pence (R) listen to US General Vincent K. Brooks (L), Commander of the United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and United States Forces Korea, upon his arrival at army base Camp Bonifas in Paju near the truce village of Panmunjom during a visit to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the border on April 17, 2017. /AFP Photo
Reaffirm support to Asia allies
Pence’s first 10-day tour of Asia as vice president comes amid soaring tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
"(The DPRK) should not mistake the resolve of the United States of America to stand with our allies," Pence said, adding that Washington's alliance with Seoul was "ironclad."
He also told reporters US President Donald Trump hopes China will use its "extraordinary levers" to pressure the DPRK to abandon its weapons.
Trump on Sunday tweeted that China was working with the US on the DPRK issue. White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster told ABC News "a range of options" were being developed in ongoing discussions with China.
China wants the removal of all nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang on Friday said the country would continue to stay in close communications with all relevant parties to achieve a peaceful settlement of tensions in the region.
Related stories:
