Pence on North Korea: 'The era of strategic patience is over'

Mike Pence at the Korean Demilitarized Zone.
(Image credit: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images)

During a visit to a military base near the Demilitarized Zone separating North Korea and South Korea, Vice President Mike Pence said Monday that the "era of strategic patience is over" when it comes to North Korea.

Pence also said he wants to see China, an ally of North Korea, use "extraordinary levers" to persuade North Korea to give up its ballistic missiles. Pence is on a 10-day tour of Asia, and he arrived in South Korea on Sunday, the same day North Korea tested a missile that failed mere seconds after its launch. Pence said "all options" are on the table to get Pyongyang to rid itself of nuclear weapons and its missile program, and the alliance between the U.S. and South Korea is "ironclad." The heavily fortified 2.5-mile-wide DMZ was created after the Korean War ended without a peace treaty, and a large number of troops are standing guard on both sides of the line.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.