Washington/Seoul – US Vice President Mike Pence arrived in South Korea on Sunday for the start of a four-nation Asia-Pacific tour, seeking to reassure allies in the face of a belligerent North Korea that launched a failed missile hours earlier.
The vice president’s plane touched down at Osan Air Base shortly after Pyongyang attempted to launch an unidentified missile from the port city of Sinpo that “blew up almost immediately,” according to US Pacific Command.
Pence was briefed on the failed launch en route from Alaska.
After disembarking at Osan, Pence was met by the US Charge d’Affaires ad interim Marc Knapper and four-star General Vincent Brooks, who commands US forces Korea, as well as South Korea’s first vice foreign minister.
A pair of soldiers watch US-South Korea joint exercises under way on April 11. US Vice President Mike Pence is heading on a four-nation tour of Asia and Australia in a bid to calm allies worried about North Korea and an American turn inward. Lee Sang-Ho/Xinhua via ZUMA Wire Photo: Lee Sang-Ho/dpa
Pence and his entourage next travelled by helicopter and then motorcade to Seoul National Cemetery, where the vice president walked down a path lined with South Korean troops before donning white gloves to lay a wreath on an easel near a memorial tower.
The vice president, his wife Karen Pence and their two daughters then travelled to Yongsan military base for an Easter Sunday service.
On Monday, Pence is to conduct talks with acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn and National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun.
Pence’s visit coincides with heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula and in the Asia-Pacific region over North Korea’s recent missile launches and nuclear programme.
Military options are “already being assessed” in the face of rising threats from North Korea, a senior US official told reporters ahead of Pence’s visit to the region, which includes stops in Japan, Indonesia and Australia.
–dpa
