World

US vice-president Mike Pence warns North Korea the 'era of strategic patience is over' in wake of failed missile test

US vice-president Mike Pence arrives at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War 							        PICTURE: Lee Jin-man/AP
US vice-president Mike Pence arrives at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War PICTURE: Lee Jin-man/AP US vice-president Mike Pence arrives at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War PICTURE: Lee Jin-man/AP

US VICE-PRESIDENT Mike Pence has warned North Korea the "era of strategic patience is over" as he visited the Korean Demilitarised Zone within 24 hours of Pyongyang's failed missile test.

Mr Pence made the unannounced visit at the start of his 10-day trip to Asia in a US show of force that allowed the vice-president to gaze at North Korean soldiers from afar and stare directly across a border marked by razor wire.

As the brown bomber jacket-clad vice-president was briefed near the military demarcation line, two North Korean soldiers watched from a short distance away, one taking multiple photographs of the American visitor.

Mr Pence told reporters near the DMZ that President Donald Trump was hopeful that China would use its "extraordinary levers" to pressure the North to abandon its weapons programme, but he expressed impatience with the unwillingness of the regime to move towards ridding itself of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

Pointing to the quarter-century since the United States first confronted North Korea over its attempts to build nuclear weapons, the vice-president said a period of patience had followed.

"But the era of strategic patience is over," Mr Pence declared.

"President Trump has made it clear that the patience of the United States and our allies in this region has run out and we want to see change.

"We want to see North Korea abandon its reckless path of the development of nuclear weapons, and also its continual use and testing of ballistic missiles is unacceptable."

Later Monday, Mr Pence said in a joint statement alongside South Korean acting president Hwang Kyo-ahn that the United States' commitment to its ally is "iron-clad and immutable".

Mr Pence reiterated that "all options are on the table" to deal with the threat and said that any use of nuclear weapons by Pyongyang would be met with "an overwhelming and effective response".

Pointing to Mr Trump's recent military actions in Syria and Afghanistan, Mr Pence said North Korea "would do well not to test his resolve", or the US armed forces in the region.

The vice-president earlier visited a military installation near the DMZ, Camp Bonifas, for a briefing with military leaders.

He also met with American troops stationed at the joint US-South Korean military camp, which is just outside the 2.5 mile-wide DMZ.

Under rainfall, Mr Pence later stood a few metres from the military demarcation line outside Freedom House, gazing at the North Korean soldiers across the border.

In Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, speaking to a parliamentary session on Monday, said: "Needless to say, diplomatic effort is important to maintain peace. But dialogue for the sake of having dialogue is meaningless."

He added that "we need to apply pressure on North Korea so they seriously respond to a dialogue" with the international community, urging China and Russia to play more constructive roles on the issue.

Mr Pence's visit, full of Cold War symbolism, came amid increasing tensions and heated rhetoric on the Korean Peninsula.

While the North did not conduct a nuclear test, the spectre of a potential test and an escalated US response has followed Mr Pence as he undertakes his Asian tour.

Mr Trump wrote on Sunday on Twitter that China was working with the United States on "the North Korea problem".

His national security adviser, HR McMaster, said the US would rely on its allies as well as Chinese leadership to resolve the issues with North Korea.

Mr McMaster cited Mr Trump's recent decision to order missile strikes in Syria after a chemical attack blamed on the Assad government, as a sign that the president "is clearly comfortable making tough decisions".

But at the same time, Mr McMaster said that "it's time for us to undertake all actions we can, short of a military option, to try to resolve this peacefully".

Mr Pence told reporters that the North Korean people and military "should not mistake the resolve of the United States of America to stand with our allies", calling the alliance "iron-clad". He said the US and its allies would deal with the situation "through peaceable means or ultimately by whatever means are necessary".

After a two-month policy review, the Trump administration settled on a policy dubbed "maximum pressure and engagement", US officials said on Friday. The administration's immediate emphasis, they said, was to be on increasing pressure on Pyongyang with the help of Beijing.

A White House foreign policy adviser travelling with Mr Pence told reporters that the type of missile that North Korea tried to fire on Sunday was medium-range, and that it exploded about four to five seconds after it was launched.

The North regularly launches short-range missiles, but is also developing mid-range and long-range missiles meant to target US troops in Asia and, eventually, the US mainland.

North Korea has conducted five nuclear tests, including two last year. Recent satellite imagery suggests the country could conduct another underground nuclear test at any time.