North Korea Shows Off Military Capabilities As U.S. VP Mike Pence Warns U.S. Strategic Patience Is Over
North Korea held a military parade in honor of Kim Il-sung, the country's founding father and the leader who put the country's nuclear weapons as the core of his regime. The parade showcased thousands of soldiers marching a tune to resounding military music as well as military vehicles possibly to taunt the world of its growing nuclear capabilities.
Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence was at the Demilitarized Zone which separates South Korea and North Korea during Easter weekend. Pence delivered the news that the United States is fed up with North Korea and his visit marks the "era of strategic patience is over."
Pyongyang relayed that it is ready to take the toughest action against the United States if it did not stop its intervention. The U.S. is suspecting that North Korea is ready to hold another nuclear test, its sixth so far, in an effort to develop long range weapons that can aim for the United States mainland, The Guardian reported.
It is said that the North Korean capital is also in the stage of developing launching systems that will be quick enough to response to a preemptive attack. This is quite a challenge for a country that has very minimal resources but reports say that the North Korean government is doing all that it can to complete this project.
Among the weapons that were paraded were ballistic missiles on top of trucks. A researcher said that these missiles were possibly untested and are a long way from being used. North Korea has been known to show off their military capabilities before these were ever tested. Among the possibly "untested" missiles were Pukkuksong submarine-launched ballistic missiles which are known to have a range of more than 600 miles.
Mike Pence held a press conference near the DMZ and told the press that President Donald Trump wants China to pressure North Korea to stop its test and use of nuclear weapons. Pence added that the U.S. and its allies will use peaceable means however U.S. is done with being patient over North Korea, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The U.S Vice President said that the U.S. and its allies in the region want to see change especially when it comes to North Korea's testing of ballistic missiles. A policy for "maximum pressure and engagement" was created by U.S. officials after two months of review.
This emphasized how the U.S. increased pressure on Pyongyang through Beijing. Pence was in South Korea to explain this policy and he will also visit Japan, Indonesia, and Australia to persuade these countries to pressure North.
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