Pence talks trade, North Korea on trip to Japan

Vice President Pence kicked off his Asia trip Tuesday, appearing alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo to praise the bilateral relationship between the U.S. and Japan.

The “U.S.–Japan alliance is the cornerstone of peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific,” Pence said during a joint news conference.

{mosads}“Our nations’ security and prosperity depend on this vital region, and the U.S. will continue to ensure that all nations, large and small, can thrive and prosper,” he added, the Japan Times reported. 

Pence, according to the outlet, echoed President Trump’s sharp rhetoric on trade with Japan, stating that “American products and services too often face barriers to compete fairly in Japanese markets.”

“The best opportunity for free, fair and reciprocal trade will come in a bilateral trade agreement,” he added, praising Abe for “Japan’s renewed investment in America.”

Trump has long claimed the U.S. faces trade imbalances from Japan. The president, shortly after entering the White House, pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. More recently, Trump reportedly considered slapping tariffs on Japanese automobile exports. 

Last month, Trump expressed optimism that the two nations could reach a new trade arrangement to “balance out the one-sided trade with Japan.”

“Prime Minister @AbeShinzo of Japan has been working with me to help balance out the one-sided Trade with Japan. These are some of the investments they are making in our Country – just the beginning!” he tweeted in October. 

Pence, this week, also told Japan that the U.S. would maintain pressure on North Korea as the Trump administration seeks full denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

“The pressure campaign will continue. The sanctions will remain in full force until we achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea,” Pence said. 

Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in Singapore this summer to begin negotiating denuclearization. Trump declared the first meeting a success, citing an end to the nation’s nuclear or ballistic missile tests and the return of three U.S. hostages.

A think tank revealed Monday that it identified 13 previously unknown missile operating bases.

“North Korea’s decommissioning of the Sohae satellite launch facility, while gaining much media attention, obscures the military threat to U.S. forces and South Korea from this and other undeclared ballistic missile bases,” Joseph Bermudez wrote in a report published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, adding that the sites appear to be “active and being reasonably well-maintained.”