Pence says ‘all options on the table’ in tackling N. Korea
US vice president arrives near DMZ after failed missile test by Pyongyang, warns the ‘era of strategic patience is over’
US Vice President Mike Pence used a visit to the heavily militarized border between the two Koreas Monday to declare “all options are on the table” in dealing with Pyongyang, the day after the North’s latest failed missile test.
Pence declared the “era of strategic patience is over” with North Korea, expressing impatience with the unwillingness of the regime to move toward ridding itself of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
Pence’s trip to the flashpoint frontier underscored Washington’s shifting policy towards the isolated state after years of nuclear and missile tests carried out in defiance of the international community.
The US vice president flew by helicopter into Camp Bonifas, a US-led United Nations command post just a few hundred meters (yards) south of the DMZ.
Washington wants to achieve security “through peaceable means, through negotiations. But all options are on the table as we continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of South Korea,” Pence said at the border village of Panmunjom.
Pence — speaking at Freedom House, a few meters from the military demarcation line that he described as a “frontier of freedom” — said America’s relationship with South Korea was “ironclad and immutable.”
“The message of the people of the United States of America is that we seek peace, but America has always sought peace through strength and my message here today standing with US forces Korea, standing with courageous soldiers from the Republic of Korea, is a message of resolve.
“The people of North Korea, the military of North Korea, should not mistake the resolve of the United States of America to stand with our allies.”
Tensions between Pyongyang and Washington have soared in recent weeks, as a series of North Korean weapons tests have wrought ever-more bellicose warnings from Donald Trump’s administration.
The US president has indicated he will not allow North Korea to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the western United States.
Pyongyang insists it needs a powerful arsenal — including atomic weapons — to protect itself from what it says is the ever-present threat of invasion by hostile US forces.
A top White House foreign policy advisor on Sunday became the latest Trump official to warn that while diplomatic pressure was preferable, US military action is very much on the table.
“We have a wide array of tools at disposal for the president should he choose to use them,” the official said.
The latest launch — which failed when the missile blew up seconds after blast off — came a day after the North held a defiant massive military parade in Pyongyang showcasing nearly 60 missiles — including a suspected new intercontinental ballistic missile.
The North has a habit of test-firing missiles to mark major dates such as Saturday’s 105th anniversary of the birth of the nation’s founder Kim Il-Sung, or as gestures of defiance when top US officials visit the region.
South Korea’s foreign ministry said that by conducting the latest test just a day after displaying a series of missiles, “North Korea has threatened the whole world.”
After visiting the DMZ, Pence is expected to hold talks with South Korea’s Acting President Hwang Kyo-Ahn in Seoul.
Pence will try to steer clear of South Korea’s tumultuous domestic politics ahead of elections next month.
But he will no doubt address worries in Washington that any new government may slow-walk the deployment of THAAD — a system designed to shoot down missiles from North Korea or elsewhere.
This is Pence’s first visit to South Korea — part of an Asia swing that also includes stops in Japan, Indonesia and Australia — and although it was conceived months ago, could hardly come at a time of higher tension.
