US Vice President Mike Pence makes surprise visit to DMZ after North Korea missile launch

(Baonghean.vn) - AFP news agency reported on April 17 that US Vice President Mike Pence visited the entrance of the demilitarized zone bordering the two Koreas today, a move showing US determination just hours after Pyongyang conducted a failed missile test.

The US vice president flew by helicopter to Camp Bonifas, the US-led UN Command, just a few hundred metres south of the DMZ. From there, Pence will travel to the truce village of Panmunjom, one of the most heavily militarised and dangerous borders on Earth.

US Vice President Mike Pence made a surprise visit to the DMZ. Photo: AP

“It is an honor to be here,” said the Vice President. “My father served in the United States Army during the Korean War, and on our way here we have seen some of the places where he fought alongside South Korean forces to help win your independence. We pay tribute to all those who guard the peace in the DMZ every day.”

Tensions between Pyongyang and Washington have escalated in recent weeks. US President Donald Trump, a political novice, has insisted that he will not allow North Korea to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the western United States. Pyongyang, for its part, insists that it needs a robust arsenal, including nuclear weapons, to defend itself from what it calls an unprecedented threat from aggressive US forces.

US Vice President arrives at Camp Bonifas near the truce village of Panmunjom, South Korea on April 17. Photo: Reuters.

On April 16, a senior White House foreign policy adviser, becoming the latest official in the Trump administration, warned that while diplomatic pressure was a priority, military action by the US military was still on the table.

Also on April 16, speaking to the 28,500 US military personnel stationed in South Korea, US Vice President Mike Pence condemned Pyongyang's latest missile launch as "provocative." The South Korean Foreign Ministry said that conducting the launch just one day after the country introduced a series of missiles at a parade marking the 105th anniversary of the birth of late President Kim Il Sung showed that "this country is threatening the whole world."

After visiting the DMZ, Mr. Pence will have a discussion with Acting President of South Korea Hwang Kyo-Ahn in the capital Seoul./.

Lan Ha

(According to AFP)