US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said that the policy of "strategic patience" with the DPRK has come to an end and that all options are now on the table. Tillerson made the comments during his official visit to South Korea on Friday. 

After arriving in South Korea, the US secretary of state was immediately whisked away by helicopter to visit the Demilitarized Zone, the world's most fortified strip of land that divides a peninsula still technically at war. 

Tillerson posed for photos, taken by both sides, with some of the more than 28,000 US troops stationed in South Korea. 

The US secretary of state traveled to South Korea from Japan, where he said past policies of the US had clearly failed to deter the DPRK from developing nuclear weapons. 

Speaking alongside his South Korean counterpart, Tillerson made it clear the Trump administration was now exploring all options: “Let me be very clear the policy of strategic patience has ended. We are exploring a new range of diplomatic, security and economic measures - all options are on the table. North Korea (DPRK) must understand that the only path to a secure, economically-prosperous future is to abandon its development of nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and other weapons of mass destruction.”

The US has agreed to permanently deploy missile-capable Grey Eagle drones to South Korea. And the THAAD anti-missile system is currently being assembled for operation. 

"Both the governments of South Korea and the United States are pursuing the deployment of the THAAD system to respond to the level of a North Korean threat which is completely different compared to the past. We have a very clear stance that it stems from North Korean nuclear and missile threats, and that it is not aimed at a specific third country." said Yun Byung-se, South Korean foreign minister.

Tillerson is trying to get a sense of where South Korea's foreign policy is heading one week after ousted former President Park Geun-hye was officially impeached and ahead of snap elections to be held next month. 

Next stop for Tillerson is China, where he will try to convince officials that the THAAD anti-missile system is meant purely for South Korea's defense and seek Beijing's input on potential solutions for halting the DPRK's missile program.