Vice President Mike Pence made an unannounced visit to the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea amid growing tensions between the U.S. and the North Korea, and pledged “unwavering” support to South Korea.
“I am here to express the unwavering support of the United States for our longstanding alliance with South Korea,” he told Acting South Korean President Hwangt Kyo-Ahn.
“On behalf of the President of the United States, my message to the people of South Korea is this: We are with you 100 percent,” he said. “Even in these troubled times, we stand with you for a free and secure future.”
The visit Monday morning local time comes just one day after North Korea’s latest failed missile launch.
Pence’s Blackhawk landed on a baseball field at Camp Bonifas, a gateway to the demilitarized zone.
He later delivered remarked at the Freedom House observation post in the DMZ. According to a pool report he called the area surrounding the border military demarcation line a “frontier of freedom.”
While Pence said it was the U.S.’s intention to seek security through peaceful negotiations, that doesn’t mean the Trump administration is unprepared to take more drastic measures.
He said “all options are on the table as we continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of South Korea for denuclearization of this peninsula and for the long term prosperity and freedom of the people of South Korea,” according to the pool report.
He also said of China that “we look for them to do more” in swaying North Korea.
Asked if he had a message for the North Korean people, Pence said: “The people of North Korea the military of North Korea should not mistake the resolve of the United States of America to stand with our allies. The alliance between South Korea and the United States is ironclad.”
He added that “the era of strategic patience is over.”
Proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with US & S. Korean troops at DMZ. Today I reaffirmed that under @POTUS Trump our resolve is undeterred. pic.twitter.com/q7kBAbotP9
— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) April 17, 2017
Pence spent Easter Sunday with members of the U.S. and South Korean military in Seoul, affirming the U.S. commitment to the country.
“This morning’s provocation from the north is just the latest reminder of the risks each one of you face each and every day in the defense of the freedom of the people of South Korea and the defense of America in this part of the world,” Pence said. “Let me assure you that under President Trump’s leadership our resolve has never been stronger, our commitment to this historic alliance with the courageous people of South Korea has never been stronger and with your help and God’s help freedom will ever prevail on this peninsula.”
The failed missile launch occurred one day after the 105th birthday of North Korea’s late founder Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong Un. The North Korean regime paraded intercontinental ballistic missiles in a massive military display in central Pyongyang, with Kim looking on.
North Korea has conducted two nuclear tests and about two dozen missile tests in the last year.
