US '˜era of patience' with North Korea is over says Pence

US Vice President Mike Pence has declared the 'era of strategic patience is over' with North Korea, expressing impatience with the speed and willingness of the regime to move toward ridding itself of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence arrives at Observation Post Ouellette in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Picture: AP

Pence told reporters near the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea that President Donald Trump is hopeful that China will use its “extraordinary levers” to pressure the North to abandon its weapons.

Pence, who has called the North’s failed missile test a day earlier “a provocation,” said the US and its allies will achieve its objectives through “peaceable means or ultimately by whatever means are necessary” to protect South Korea and stabilise the region.

Pence visited a military base near the DMZ, Camp Bonifas, for a briefing with military leaders and to meet with American troops stationed there. The joint US-South Korean military camp is just outside the 2.5-mile-wide DMZ.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence arrives at Observation Post Ouellette in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Picture: AP

Pointing to the quarter-century since North Korea first obtained nuclear weapons, the vice president said a period of patience followed.

“But the era of strategic patience is over,” Pence said. “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.”

Trump himself asserted on Sunday that China was working with the United States on “the North Korea problem.” His national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, said the US would rely on its allies as well as on Chinese leadership to resolve the issues with North Korea.

McMaster cited 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, McMaster said on “This Week” on ABC, “it’s time for us to undertake all actions we can, short of a military option, to try to resolve this peacefully.”

South Koreans stage a rally with the U.S. and South Korean flags to welcome a visit of U.S. Vice President Mike Pence. Picture: AP

The bottom line, McMaster said, is to stop the North’s weapons development and make the Korean Peninsula nuclear-free. “It’s clear that the president is determined not to allow this kind of capability to threaten the United States. And our president will take action that is in the best interest of the American people,” he said.

Pence will be tasked with explaining the policy in meetings with leaders in South Korea and Japan during the trip, which will also include stops in Indonesia and Australia. He will aim to reassure allies in South Korea and Japan that the US will take appropriate steps to defend them against North Korean aggression.

A North Korean missile exploded during launch on Sunday, US and South Korean officials said. The high-profile failure came as the North tried to showcase its nuclear and missile capabilities around the birth anniversary of the North’s late founder and as a US aircraft carrier neared the Korean Peninsula.