Vice President Mike Pence is warning in a visit to the Demilitarized Zone dividing North and South Korea that the North Korean people and military "should not mistake the resolve of the United States of America to stand with our allies.”
His 10-day tour of Asia comes as tensions grow in the wake of North Korea's latest missile test.
Pence tells reporters that the alliance between South Korea and the U.S. is "ironclad" and is reiterating that "all options are on the table" to stop North Korea with its nuclear ambitions.
Pence visited a military base near the DMZ, Camp Bonifas, for a briefing with military leaders and to meet with American troops stationed there.
The US Vice President says the "era of strategic patience is over" with North Korea, expressing impatience with the unwillingness of the North Korean regime to move toward ridding itself of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
Pence also tells reporters that President Donald Trump is hopeful that China will use their "extraordinary levers" to pressure the North to abandon their weapons.
He says there was a "period of patience" over the years but "the era of strategic patience is over." He mentioned that Trump administration hopes their clarity will be received in North Korea, adding the U.S. and its allies will settle the tensions through "peaceable means or ultimately by whatever means are necessary" to protect South Korea and stabilize the region.
