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News > Latin America

United States to Latin America: Cut All Ties with North Korea

  • U.S. Vice President Mike Pence speaks during an official ceremony with Chile's President Michelle Bachelet (not pictured) at the government house in Santiago, Chile August 16, 2017.

    U.S. Vice President Mike Pence speaks during an official ceremony with Chile's President Michelle Bachelet (not pictured) at the government house in Santiago, Chile August 16, 2017. | Photo: Reuters

Published 16 August 2017
Opinion

The statement comes a week after U.S. President Donald Trump ramped up his threats against the country.

As the U.S. Vice President Mike Pence continued his six-day tour of South America, he issued a directive for the continent: cut off all links with North Korea.

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"We strongly urge Chile today, and we urge Brazil, Mexico and Peru to break all diplomatic and commercial ties to North Korea,” Pence told reporters. “The era of strategic patience is over, with regard to North Korea. All options are on the table.”

The Republican vice president made the statement after meeting the Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.

While its biggest trading partner is China, a small percentage of trade does occur between Pyongyang and Latin America.

The statement comes a week after U.S. President Donald Trump ramped up his threats against the country, saying North Korea, or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), as it prefers to be called, will be met with “fire and fury” if it continues to aggravate the United States.

"The United States of America will simply not permit a rogue regime in North Korea to possess usable nuclear weapons,” Pence insisted.

The country has been deemed a “rogue” nation since the U.S.-led Korean War that took place from 1950 to 1954.

Tensions have escalated in recent weeks, after Pyongyang tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles in July.

In response, the United Nations Security Council approved new U.S.-drafted sanctions.

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