Pence warns NKorea 'era of strategic patience is over'

Pence visited a military base near the DMZ, Camp Bonifas, for a briefing with military leaders and to meet with American troops stationed there. From there, he was expected to move to the truce village of Panmunjom that straddles one of the most heavily militarised borders on Earth. He has repeatedly said if China, North Korea's dominant trading partner, is unwilling to do more to pressure the North, the us might take the matter into its own hands.

Pence is in Seoul at the beginning of a 10-day trip to Asia in what his aides said was a sign of USA commitment to its ally in the face of rising tension.

The United States, its allies and China are working together on a range of responses to North Korea's latest failed ballistic missile test, Trump's national security adviser said on Sunday, citing what he called an global consensus to act.

Also Sunday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke by telephone with China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi and they "exchanged views on the current situation on the Korean Peninsula", China's foreign ministry said in a statement.

The official said that had it been a nuclear test, "other actions would have been taken by the US".

The fear of devastation in Seoul - and the risk to the American troops based in and around the South Korean capital - has long restrained USA administrations from striking North Korea.cludes stops in Japan, Indonesia and Australia - and although it was conceived months ago, could hardly come at a time of higher tension.

The regime is thought to have carried out its first nuclear test in 2006, with its scientists detonating five devices to date.

President Trump tweeted Thursday that he has "great confidence" in China's ability to "properly deal with North Korea".

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

In 1996 a North Korean sub landed three troops to spy on South Korea's navy near Jeongdongjin, but the vessel ran aground when it tried to collect the team. "The North Koreans know they may fail, but they improve their capabilities each time". China banned the import of North Korean coal, Pyongyang's most important export, on February 26.

South Korea said the North's combined show of force "threatened the whole world" but a USA foreign policy adviser travelling with Pence on Air Force Two appeared to defuse some of the tension, saying the test of what was believed to be a medium-range missile had come as no surprise. Pence emphasized the relationship between the US and South Korea.

"Japan will closely cooperate with the US and South Korea over North Korea and will call for China to take a bigger role", Abe told parliament.

He said President Donald Trump is hopeful that China will use its "extraordinary levers" to pressure the North to abandon its weapons.

Hill said the threat from North Korea has increased since the period of 2005 to 2007 when he headed a US delegation to six-party talks aimed at addressing North Korea's nuclear program.

Vice President Pence speaks as his wife Karen Pence listens at a military base in Seoul on April 16.

USA national security adviser HR McMaster insisted Pyongyang would not be allowed to threaten its neighbours and America with a nuclear arsenal.

On the plane ride over, shortly after taking off from our refueling stop in Alaska, Pence was informed that the Pyongyang regime had fired off what appeared to be a medium range missile that exploded only seconds after leaving the launch pad. "We will see what happens!"

Kim Jong-Un enraged the USA this morning by staging yet another missile test - but the launch was an embarrassing flop.

The Pentagon said the Afghanistan and Syrian strikes were not meant to send a broader message, but North Korea surely was watching closely and drawing lessons from Trump's willingness to use military power.