In the wake of North Korea's failed medium-range missile test this weekend, President Donald Trump is willing to consider ordering "kinetic" military action, including a sudden strike, to counteract North Korea's destabilizing actions in the region, said a person familiar with the White House's thinking.
During his visit to a military base near the DMZ, Camp Bonifas, Pence was briefed by military leaders and met with American troops stationed there.
He noted that for more than 60 years, USA and South Korean forces "have held the line for freedom here at the DMZ. We do not accept the reckless nuclear missile actions of Pyongyang that breach United Nations resolutions, but that does not mean that you can break worldwide law", Lavrov said, adding that he hoped there would not be any "unilateral actions like the one we saw recently in Syria".
Vice President Mike Pence began his 10-day trip to Asia by going straight to the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. Trump and his advisers have pointed to Beijing's move to restrict coal imports from North Korea as a sign Beijing is listening, and the US says China has turned back some shipments in recent days.
"But the era of strategic patience is over", Pence said.
"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 said on USA cable network ABC's This Week. Pence made clear that Beijing should instead play an active role in a solution to the North Korea problem. His national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, said the USA would rely on its allies as well as Chinese leadership to resolve the issues with North Korea. "Our hope is that we can resolve this issue peaceably", Pence said in an exclusive interview at the DMZ.
The bottom line, McMaster said, is to stop the North's weapons development and make the Korean Peninsula nuclear-free. "And our president will take action that is in the best interest of the American people", he said. The Trump administration has labeled this policy "maximum pressure and engagement", although officials acknowledge there is no current engagement with Pyongyang.
The officials weren't authorized to speak publicly on the results of the policy review and requested anonymity.
In a major foreign-policy coup for the Trump Administration, North Korea offered to unconditionally abandon its nuclear program on Monday, after Mike Pence spent several minutes angrily squinting at the nation from just across the border. "But dialogue for the sake of having dialogue is meaningless".
The US has hoped that China would use the fact that it is North Korea's largest - only - trading partner as leverage.
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"With minimal exception of Russia, China is [North Korea's] only window into [the] outside world and provides it much of its fuel, food and technical goods".
US officials and experts believe it is some time away from mastering the necessary technology, including miniaturising a nuclear warhead.
Last week, a USA aircraft carrier-led strike group set course for the Western Pacific Ocean close to the Korean Peninsula amid growing fears over the North's weapons tests. "We want to see change. we want to see North Korea abandon its reckless path".
But China has been reluctant in the past to use its leverage because its fellow communist country serves as a buffer between Chinese territory and US troops stationed in South Korea. "We will see what happens!" She advised patience with China on the issue.
"This exercise will rigorously test our aerial combat capability and highlights the ironclad commitment between the USA and (South Korea), and the multifaceted capabilities we possess in this theater", Lt. Gen. Thomas W. Bergeson, the 7th Air Force commander, said in a statement. But the heat has been rising rapidly since Trump took office in January.
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Pence warned North Korea on Monday that the "era of strategic patience is over" and that all options are on the table if Kim continues to threaten the region with his missile and nuclear testing programs.
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He warned that as long as the United States and its allies "scheme to bring down the socialist system in the DPRK", the government will keep increasing "its military muscle" to protect the country. During the Obama administration, the regime launched four more nuclear tests.
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