However, a senior Japanese Defense Ministry official said, "North Korea considers nuclear development to be a means of deterring USA attacks".
Pence's speech on the aircraft carrier followed meetings Tuesday in Tokyo with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, where he noted that "all options are on the table".
Pence is announcing the presidential trip after meeting in Jakarta with ASEAN officials.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence waves before leaving for Japan, at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Tuesday, April 18, 2017.
JAKARTA: US Vice President Mike Pence Thursday praised Indonesia's moderate form of Islam as "an inspiration" at the start of a visit to the Muslim-majority country seen as a bid by his administration to heal divisions with the Islamic world.
Vice President Mike Pence and his family have toured Jakarta's Istiqlal Mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia.
"The enemies of our freedom and this alliance would do well not to test the resolve of this President", Pence said.
But addressing dozens of Japanese and United States business executives on a visit to Tokyo, Pence described his country as "grateful" for Japanese investment and stressed the vibrant business ties between the world's number one and number three economies. Pence was joined by American softball star Monica Abbott and Japanese player Akinori Iwamura.
"When President Trump agreed to this dialogue, he envisioned this as a mechanism for enhancing bilateral commercial relations between the US and Japan and achieving results in the near future", Pence said before meeting his counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso.
Pence is speaking in Tokyo to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Japan.
(English-AP:4092047) "President Trump's plan is to slash the corporate tax rate and to reform the tax code and make it simpler, flatter and fairer".
Mattis will also likely address US operations against the Islamic State in Syria, according to defense officials.
Zimbabwe's Tsvangirai and Mujuru in anti-Mugabe alliance
More opposition parties are expected to join the alliance, Tsvangirai said. The future can only be bright for this country that we all love.
His remarks also coincided with an embarrassing USA admission on Tuesday that an aircraft carrier Trump said 10 days ago was sailing to waters off the Korean Peninsula was in fact heading in the opposite direction. The aircraft carrier expected to participate in the attack on North Korea, the USS Carl Vinson, is said to be en route, but won't arrive for at least another week.
And while the tensions with North Korea have dominated Pence's trip, the goal of it is to promote USA trade in the region.
Trump's new strategy involves engaging with North Korea's neighbors to bring an end to their pursuit of nuclear weapons, Pence said.
"China expresses serious concern with recent trends about North Korea's nuclear and missile development", he said.
Work on shrinking trade imbalances with China and Japan is running hand-in-hand with renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, said a Republican insider close to Trump.
The two governments hope to achieve North Korea's abandonment of its nuclear program through heightening US military pressure as well as strengthening economic sanctions by China.
"The United States of America will always seek peace, but under President Trump, the shield stands guard and the sword stands ready", he added.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Pence also emphasized that the USA would uphold freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea - where China's actions in support of its disputed territorial claims have sparked tensions in recent years.
Prior to Pence's arrival from South Korea, Abe on Monday called for increased diplomacy rather than the use of force in dealing with the current situation regarding tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Moreover, the US vice president himself clearly repeated the USA stance that the TPP was "a thing of the past for the United States".
President Trump has said voters don't care about his tax returns. He visited South Korea earlier and will head to Indonesia after his stop in Japan.
North Korea has threatened to retaliate against any United States attack, and is promising continued missile tests to bolster its retaliatory capabilities.
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