UN Security Council condemns North Korea missile test

“And one way or another, Donald Trump is going to do something about that”.

“The Trump administration has made the decision and has taken steps to formally withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership”. The change in tone is also evidence in Trump’s “unusually” circumspect response to Pyongyang.

Was the US military action a one-off punishment for the regime’s vile attack on civilians, the beginning of an attempt at Syrian regime change, or a broader Trump initiative to “prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons?”

Japan is the second stop on a four-country trip that is taking Pence to South Korea, Indonesia and Australia. It is his first trip to Asia as vice president.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has repeatedly threatened to keep testing missiles.

The US carrier group it thought was near Korea and China’s threat on April 12 to support United Nations sanctions, including cutting off North Korea’s oil supply – which would have quickly brought its fragile economy to a halt – probably weighed heavily on Pyongyang as well.

George Washington University professor Henry Nau, who served on the National Security Council staff in the Reagan administration, said the tough talk was primarily aimed at getting the attention of rogue elements in various parts of the world that have acted with impunity in the past.

Some news reports recently revealed that a USA carrier task force ordered to sail toward waters off North Korea actually went the opposite direction for a few days.

Japan and the US have outlined a path forward for economic talks between the countries.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, right, and US Vice President Mike Pence shake hands prior to a luncheon hosted by Abe at the prime minister’s official residence in Tokyo, Tuesday, April 18, 2017. Some believe the US should just launch a pre-emptive strike.

A message on the screen in Korean translates as: “If US imperialists move an inch toward us, we will immediately hit them with nukes”.

North Korea has repeatedly vowed never to abandon its nuclear weapons, lest it leave itself vulnerable to US attack.

Pence said, “We appreciate the challenging times in which the people of Japan live with increasing provocations from across the Sea of Japan”. The U.S. also must consider implications for its ally South Korea, whose capital of Seoul, with 10 million residents, sits 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of the border, within range of conventional artillery. The events led to the United States assembled a US Navy strike group, it was discovered on April 18 that the said group was not actually heading to North Korea despite the officials’ claims. Despite its outspoken opposition to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, China may again decide it fears a North Korean collapse or aggressive action more, and continue to provide the trade and economic lifeline North Korea needs for survival. During the interview, Mr Trump only referred to the current North Korean leader as “the gentleman” and appeared to imply that both President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama were dealing with the same leader in their respective tenures.