Seoul 17 Apr (ANA) - Vice President Mike Pence has warned the 'era of patience' with Kim Jong-un is over as he insisted America's commitment to South Korea is 'iron-clad'. Pence, speaking in the perilous Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea, reiterated that 'all options are on the table' to deal with the threat posed by Pyongyang. After travelling to the region with his family, Pence said President Donald Trump is hopeful that China will now use its 'extraordinary levers' to pressure the North to abandon its nuclear and ballistic program.

This morning he warned Kim Jong-un not to 'test the resolve' of the President Trump and insisted any use of nuclear weapons by the secretive state would be met with 'an overwhelming and effective response'. The visit came shortly after a failed North Korean missile launch that some claim may have been 'thwarted by cyber attacks from the US.' President Trump has ordered a naval strike group, led by the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier, to the region, though the vessels remain a long way from the peninsula. But this morning, Japanese media claimed both China and Russia had dispatched intelligence-gathering vessels from their navies to chase the 'armada' amid mounting concern over the US deployment. The claims were made by multiple sources of the Japanese government, according to The Yomiuri Shimbun. Russia today warned Washington against launching a unilateral strike on North Korea claiming the US was on a 'risky path'.(ANA) 

FA/ANA/17 April 2017-----