Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday described North Korea’s failure to launch a missile earlier the same day as a “provocation.”
“This morning’s provocation from the north is just the latest reminder of the risks each one of you face each and every day,” Pence said per a travel pool report, speaking at an Easter dinner at Yongsan military base in South Korea.
He said that the United States’ “resolve has never been stronger” than under President Donald Trump’s administration.
“Our commitment to this historic alliance with the courageous people of South Korea has never been stronger,” Pence said.
A North Korean missile exploded earlier Sunday during launch, according to U.S. and South Korean officials.
North Korea’s vice foreign minister on Friday said in an interview with the Associated Press that Trump’s tweets and remarks about North Korea are fueling a “vicious cycle” of tensions.
“We will go to war if they choose,” Vice Minister Han Song Ryol said.
Trump’s administration on Friday announced a strategy based on “maximum pressure and engagement” and cooperation with China to pressure North Korea to abandon its nuclear program.
