Pence urges N. Korea to stop ‘long pattern of deception’
SEOUL, South Korea — With a diplomatic deal securing its spot in the Winter Olympics, North Korea successfully changed the international narrative away from its pursuit of nuclear weapons and longrange ballistic missiles.
Events on Thursday may have refreshed some memories.
Vice President Mike Pence arrived in Seoul on Thursday determined to remind the world about the North’s advancing weapons capability — a theme the totalitarian nation helped advance by staging a large military parade in the streets of Pyongyang.
A day after suggesting that new sanctions might be imposed, Pence said the Trump administration would still press to isolate the North diplomatically and economically after the Olympics if it continues advancing as a nucleararmed state.
“The time has come for North Korea to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missiles ambitions, set aside this long pattern of deception and provocation and then — and only then — can we begin to move forward to a peaceable outcome on the peninsula,” Pence said.
The vice president met Thursday with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who has embraced the recent thaw with the North.
Moon’s government hopes the Games might help decrease tensions on the peninsula, which have worsened in recent years as the North defied the international community in its weapons effort.
Pence, who earlier Thursday spoke publicly to troops in Japan during a visit in which he met with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, didn’t take questions after the event with Moon. He did affirm the “strong and unbreakable” bond between the allies.
Pence was expected to attend the Olympics opening ceremonies Friday in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The vice president said he remained open to the possibility of meeting with the North Korean delegation, though the North declined the overture.
Kim Yo Jong, the only sister of the North’s leader, Kim Jong Un, plans to attend the Olympics ceremony as part of a nearly two-dozen-strong government delegation. The group is set to meet with Moon on Saturday.