Our Vice President, Mike Pence made strategic statements from strategic placements in route to Korea for the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympics, which reflected our nation’s intent to show the world stability and strength on the Korean Peninsula. Vice President Pence unfazed by North Korean Olympic gestures of reconciliation with South Korea made specific strategic message stops to our Nation’s and our Allied nation’s ballistic missile defenses that are in place to provide global stability and deny North Korean action to disrupt and harm the international community during the Olympic Games.
Eleven days after MDAA’s visit to Alaska, Vice President Pence on Monday, in Alaska, home to 40 of our nation’s Ground-Based Interceptors (GBIs), the 49th Missile Defense Battalion, Missile Defense radars in Shemya- Cobra Dane and Clear Air Force Station, all operationally defending the United States from North Korean Ballistic Missiles, stated
As the President has made clear, he has no higher priority than the safety and security of the American people, and missile defense is essential to our national defense. And the work that you do at this base and at other facilities across Alaska is the tip of the spear in missile defense for the United States.
And General, you and I have met at other locations associated with NORAD, and I’m particularly grateful for your great leadership and efforts.
But missile defense really begins here in Alaska at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and other bases — Fort Greely, the Missile Defense Agency, North American Aerospace Defense Command. These are the facilities, these are the men and women, and the technologies that identify, track, and ultimately destroy ballistic missile threats inbound from the United States.
And with the ongoing threats and provocations from North Korea, your work here is even more urgent and more important in the life of the nation. And it’s the reason I wanted to be here on my way to the region: to learn more about the work that you’re doing, but also to assure you that this Commander-in-Chief, our entire administration has your back. – Vice President Pence at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson
On Wednesday, Vice President Pence visited Yokota Air Base in Japan, the site where MDAA hosts the Japanese Missile Defender of the Year with Japan reviewed an active Japanese Patriot PAC-3 ballistic missile defense battery and made a statement to our American troops there.
“You’re in every sense the embodiment of American strength, unbeatable by anyone, anywhere, anytime.” – Vice President Pence
The Vice President than made the following statements from Tokyo later in the day.
“I’m announcing today that the United States of America will soon unveil the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea ever — and we will continue to isolate North Korea until it abandons its nuclear and ballistic missile program once and for all,” – Vice President Pence
“All options are on the table, and the United States has deployed some of our most advanced military assets to Japan and the wider region to protect our homeland and our allies,” – Vice President Pence
“We will not allow North Korea to hide behind the Olympic banner the reality that they enslave their people and threaten the wider region,” – Vice President Pence
“The United States is with you in this challenge, and we will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Japan, the people of South Korea, and our allies and partners across the region until we achieve the global objective of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.” – Vice President Pence
Vice President Pence stated “complete, verifiable and irreversible, denuclearization.” The Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe further stated that Vice President Pence had agreed with him that the United States and Japan would “never accept a nuclear armed North Korea.”
Ballistic Missile Defense systems deployed and operational in Korea, in Japan, in Alaska, multinational, cross service and across the domains of air, space, land and sea deliver and provide the essential deterrence to North Korea from preemptively striking, thus providing stability, and security to enable “all options on the table” while safeguarding the international community as they compete and gather in the 23rd Olympic Winter Games.
As in the games of the Olympics and in the games of life, if you don’t score you don’t win, it is equally valid with North Korea’s ballistic missile threat to the region and to the United States.
