High off of firing missiles at Syria and dropping the "mother of all bombs" in Afghanistan, the Trump administration is continuing to stir things up with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, usually known as "North Korea" and/or a dictatorial personality cult.
After decades of failure to stop North Korea's march toward a nuclear arsenal, some see Trump's bluster as a shrewd attempt to press China, the North's most important ally and trading partner, into pressuring North Korea more aggressively over its nuclear program.
China and North Korea maintain "normal contacts, including normal business contacts", said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang, when asked about the trucks.
During his visit to South Korea, at the outset of his 10-day trip to Asia, Pence's attention mostly was directed at the North Korean situation.
So Mr Pence struck a stern tone after arriving at a USA naval base from South Korea.
Pence's comments come after a senior North Korean official warned the regime had no intention of dialling down its missile programme, pledging weekly tests and threatening "all-out war" if the United States took any action against it.
A ship bell signaled his arrival Wednesday morning on the USS Ronald Reagan at the U.S. Yokosuka naval base south of Tokyo.
The North conducted two nuclear bomb tests and 24 ballistic missile tests last year, defying six Security Council sanctions resolutions banning any testing, and it has conducted additional missile tests this year, including one on Saturday that failed.
The loss of USA participation in the TPP was a blow to Japan following strenuous negotiations, especially over opening access wider to its long-protected farm sector.
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Wang told reporters that although USA officials have made clear that a military strike remains on the table, he believes that Washington would still prefer to de-escalate tensions through multi-sided talks.
Pence said after the meeting that Trump believes it is in America's interest to negotiate economic deals on a bilateral basis. He said that the dialogue could lead to formal talks on a U.S. -Japan trade agreement, but that he would leave that decision to the future.
White House officials said the economic meetings in Tokyo, with Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso and other officials, are meant to forge a framework for future discussions after the US withdrew from a Pacific Rim trade pact.
It is the top U.S. state for per-capita foreign direct investment from Japan, including higher-technology and better-paying manufacturing jobs, said Victor Smith, Pence's commerce secretary when he led the state.
After meeting with Abe, Pence held talks with Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso on a new U.S. -Japan "economic dialogue" to be led by the two.
"We are with you 100%".
US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who met with Japan's trade minister, Hiroshige Seko, earlier on Tuesday, said he hopes to soon begin talks on a free trade agreement with Japan.
The Trump administration is hoping that China will help rein in North Korea in exchange for other considerations.
Abe also said Japan's government is drawing up contingency plans in case a crisis on the Korean Peninsula sends an influx of refugees to Japan.
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