"The United States of America will always seek peace but under President Trump, the shield stands guard and the sword stands ready," Pence told 2,500 sailors aboard the carrier at the US Yokosuka naval base in Tokyo Bay.
From the wind-swept deck of a massive aircraft carrier, Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday warned North Korea not to test the resolve of the US military, promising it would make an "overwhelming and effective" response to any use of conventional or nuclear weapons.
Pence, dressed in a green military jacket, said aboard the hulking USS Ronald Reagan that President Donald Trump's administration would continue to "work diligently" with allies like Japan, China and other global powers to apply economic and diplomatic pressure on Pyongyang. But he told the sailors, "as all of you know, readiness is the key.
"The United States of America will always seek peace but under President Trump, the shield stands guard and the sword stands ready," Pence told 2,500 sailors dressed in blue fatigues and Naval baseball caps on a sunny, windy morning aboard the carrier at the US Yokosuka naval base in Tokyo Bay.
"Those who would challenge our resolve or readiness should know, we will defeat any attack and meet any use of conventional or nuclear weapons with an overwhelming and effective American response," Pence said.
Pence also said the US would protect freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, the sea lanes vital to global shipping where China has been staking claim to disputed territory.
From two continents, Pence and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis warned that North Korea's latest failed missile launch was a reckless act of provocation and assured allies in Asia that the US was ready to work to achieve a peaceful denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.
Mattis denounced North Korea's attempted missile launch as he began a Middle East tour, telling reporters travelling with him to Saudi Arabia, "the leader of North Korea again recklessly tried to provoke something by launching a missile," he said. The term "reckless" is one the North Koreans have used to describe ongoing large-scale US and South Korean military exercises, which the North calls a dress rehearsal for an invasion.
Mattis did not identify the type of missile but said it was not of intercontinental range, meaning it could not reach US territory. He did not comment on what might have caused the missile to fail.
Another official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an intelligence matter, said the missile was a Scud variant that the US calls a KN-17.
Mattis credited China with trying to help get the North Korea situation "under control" with the goal of denuclearising the peninsula.
Pence's speech on the aircraft carrier followed meetings on Tuesday in Tokyo with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, where he noted that "all options are on the table." Abe said that it was a "matter of paramount importance for us to seek diplomatic efforts as well peaceable settlements of the issue."
"But at the same time," the prime minister said, "dialogue for the sake of dialogue is valueless and it is necessary for us to exercise pressure North Korea so that it comes forward and engages in this serious dialogue." Trump and Pence, who stopped at the Demilitarised Zone dividing North and South Korea on Monday, have signalled this week a forceful US stance on North Korea's recent actions. But it remains unclear what might come next.
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 "Mike Pence, waves as he delivers remarks on the flight deck of the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier in Yokosuka, Japan")
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