U.S. Vice President Mike Pence talks with members of the American Chamber of Commerce at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, April 18, 2017.
"North Korea is the most risky and urgent threat to peace and security in the Asia-Pacific", the vice president said, standing on the deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan presently stationed at Yokosuka Naval Base in Tokyo Bay, Japan. "And those who challenge our resolve for our readiness should know we will defeat any attack and meet any use of conventional or nuclear weapons with an overwhelming and effective American response".
"All options are on the table. History will attest the soldier does not bear the sword in vain", he said.
The Trump administration has signaled a forceful US stance on North Korea's recent actions, dispatching Pence to the Demilitarized Zone dividing North and South Korea on Monday in a show of American resolve.
Tensions reached a boiling point over the weekend as North Korea celebrated the 105th birthday of their founding leader Kim il-Sung.
The previous day, Pyongyang paraded its military hardware, including what could have been two intercontinental ballistic missile canisters.
Tension has been building on the peninsula in recent days, amid warnings that the country's nuclear site is "primed and ready" for another test.
While Pence would neither confirm nor deny that the United States military has the technology to sabotage a North Korean missile launch, cyber experts told CNN that the USA has the capability and could execute the action in several different ways.
In a message directed at Kim Jong Un's regime, he said the world mustn't doubt Trump's resolve following his "decisive action" against Syria and Afghanistan.
'Record-Breaking' Number of Migrants Crossing Mediterranean This Easter
A total of 2,074 people brought to safety in a day of non-stop rescues of those stranded in the Mediterranean Sea. On Thursday, 23 people were rescued when a boat sank near the Libyan coast.
"We're already seeing our allies in South Korea and Japan and the wider world standing behind us, but China is taking unprecedented steps to economically isolate North Korea, and given the fact that China represents more than 80 percent of the exports from North Korea this is enormously important", he said. They have parted from what they called the "wait and see" attitude used by the Barack Obama administration. We're ready to defend our allies in this region.
Last week his administration kept Japan on a Treasury Department watch list covering foreign exchange policies of USA trading partners, exerting tacit pressure on Tokyo to buy more American-made goods and services.
Pence told the ship's captain that he had spoken to President Donald Trump, and Trump "wishes he were here".
Last week, President Trump said he was sending an "armada" to the Korean Peninsula as a show of force.
He also said that misinformation on a Navy strike group's whereabouts is not intentional.
A senior official with the Trump administration said the mistake was due to miscommunication.
The vice president said the US would honor its alliance with Pacific Rim nations and protect freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, the sea lanes vital to global shipping where China has been staking claim to disputed territory.
"America has played a certain role in Asia since 1945. that role has in the end of the day been a stabilizer", Delury said. "That's what being undermined here with a president who thrives on unpredictability.it's going to eat away at the fundamental credibility of the U.S. role in Asia".
Comments