Pence reaffirms Japan alliance amid North Korea ‘provocations’
Vice President Mike Pence reaffirmed the Trump administration’s alliance with Japan on Tuesday as tensions mount over its neighbor North Korea.
“We appreciate the challenging times in which the people of Japan live with increasing provocations from across the Sea of Japan,” Pence said during a lunch with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.
“We are with you 100 percent.”
Pence also called Japan the “cornerstone” of peace in the region.
North Korea has conducted a series of missile launches and nuclear tests in defiance of U.N. sanctions, including a failed missile launch on Sunday.
The meeting with Abe was Pence’s second stop on a 10-day tour of Asia.