TOKYO (AP) – U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Japanese leaders began talks Tuesday expected to focus largely on trade with America’s anchor ally in the region, though tensions with North Korea loomed large.
Pence reassured Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that the U.S. considers its alliance with Japan to be a cornerstone of security in the region.
“We appreciate the challenging times in which the people of Japan live with increasing provocations from across the Sea of Japan,” Pence said.
“We are with you 100 percent,” he said, adding that the U.S. “always seeks peace.”
Pence reiterated that after years of North Korea testing the U.S. and its neighbors in East Asia with its nuclear ambitions, the U.S. “era of strategic patience is over.”