Mike Pence arrives near DMZ after North Korea's failed missile test

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has visited the Korean Demilitarized Zone Monday and later said the "era of strategic patience is over" with North Korea.

Pence and South Korean acting president Hwang Kyo-ahn, speaking a day after a failed missile test by the North and two days after a huge display of missiles in Pyongyang, also said they would strengthen anti-North Korea defences by moving ahead with the early deployment of the THAAD missile defence system.

The Trump administration has not indicated publicly it is interested in reviving moribund diplomatic negotiations with North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs.

Trump has been leaning on China to put pressure on North Korea, but has also threatened to take on the country alone if necessary.

Reuters reported last week that Trump is focusing his North Korea strategy for now on tougher sanctions, possibly including an oil embargo, banning its airline, intercepting cargo ships and punishing Chinese banks doing business with Pyongyang, U.S. officials said.

Vice President Mike Pence called North Korea's latest missile test a "provocation", and Sen.

Military options available to Trump range from a sea blockade aimed at enforcing sanctions to cruise missile strikes on nuclear and missile facilities to a broader campaign aimed at overthrowing leader Kim Jong Un.

Pence said Monday Trump was "very hopeful that China will take actions to bring about a change of policy in North Korea".

Deputy national adviser K.T. McFarland briefed the president on the failed missile launch.

While McMaster conceded that estimates on North Korea's weapons capabilities "vary widely", even failed missile tests could allow them to improve their programmes, he said. The event marked the 105th birth anniversary of Kim's grandfather, the nation's founder, North Korea's most important holiday.

United States national security adviser General H.R. McMaster called North Korean dictator's Kim Jong-un's behaviour "provocative and destabilising and threatening".

"All options are on the table to achieve the objectives and ensure the stability of the people of this country", he said, adding that U.S. President Donald Trump has made clear he won't talk about specific military tactics.

The U.S. Pacific Command said in a statement that Sunday's missile exploded on launch.

In a joint appearance, Pence said North Korea should mind the actions and intent of the president. She advised patience with China on the issue.

A North Korean missile test that failed seconds after launch may have been sabotaged by a United States cyber-attack, some analysts conjectured on Sunday even as Washington's strategic community is spooked over the reach and potency of Pyongyang's nuclear missiles and is wondering what President Trump meant to do about it.

The regime followed that - according to US and South Korean officials - with an attempted missile test Sunday from the eastern port of Sinpo. He wants to have an [intercontinental] ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead to threaten us, and I think he's determined to get it. It has repeatedly called for talks while appearing increasingly frustrated with the North.

"The President has made clear that he will not accept the United States and its allies and partners in the region being under threat from this hostile regime with nuclear weapons". He added that the North Korean leader's unpredictability complicated USA strategy. "And so it's time for us to undertake all actions we can, short of a military option, to try to resolve this peacefully".

North Korea watchers remained on high alert, as leader Kim Jong-un was reportedly poised to conduct a sixth nuclear test.

More directly on North Korea, the president returned to a theme of placing much onus on China for reining in the North.

"The missile blew up nearly immediately", Benham said. USA analysts mused about the range and potency of the ICBMs based on the canister size, although some experts argued that just because the canisters were rolled out did not necessarily mean North Korea had nailed the ICBM technology. This matters because while North Korea regularly launches short-range missiles, it is also developing mid-range and long-range missiles meant to target US troops in Asia and, eventually, the USA mainland.