Story highlights
Pence told CNN the Obama administration's "strategic patience" is over
Trump is looking to China for help on North Korea
(CNN) —
The United States has lost its strategic patience with North Korea. So what’s a had-it-up-to-here superpower to do to stop a pariah nation bent on putting its nuclear weapons on top of a missile that could reach America?
Tough talk, for sure. Lean on China to turn off its life support to its neighbor, for another. But for all the warnings that Trump will fix the showdown with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, it’s so far unclear whether at its foundation, his strategy is all that different from previous administrations – which for the last quarter century have failed to stop his nuclear march.
North Korea timeline: From Trump’s inauguration to now
“The era of strategic patience is over,” Vice President Mike Pence told CNN’s Dana Bash during an exclusive interview on a trip to South Korea Monday.
He was referring to the policy that prevailed for much of the Obama administration.
The approach reflected a belief that the US, working closely with the UN and Japan, South Korea, China and Russia, could create enough international pressure to eventually push North Korea to denuclearize – and that this outcome was something everyone could afford to wait for.
Pyongyang recently conducted its fifth nuclear test and is soon expected to conduct a sixth, part of its accelerated drive to develop missiles that can reach the continental US with nuclear weapons small enough to place in the nosecones.
The Trump team has concluded that North Korea’s increasing strides towards producing a deliverable nuclear weapon mean that time has run out for patience and more urgency is required.
“We have now understood that that policy is not one that is prudent to the United States and that’s why you’ve seen stepped up efforts, particularly with respect to China,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Monday.
The administration’s shift in tone is notable – Pence also told CNN that Pyongyang “would do well not to test Trump’s resolve” – and it’s possible that Trump has pushed Beijing to pressure its unpredictable ally and trade partner. But the fundamental military and strategic equation in Northeast Asia has not changed.
The possible cost of North Korean retaliation for any military action against its nuclear and missile complex – an artillery barrage targeting civilians in Seoul and thousands of US troops south of the border – is just as painful as ever.
And there are still doubts about China’s capacity and willingness to make North Korea bend to Washington’s will, for instance by cutting off fuel, food and investment supplies that sustain Kim’s regime.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Will Ripley/CNN
North Korean high school students play on a beach at Wonsan, on September 11, 2017.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Will Ripley/CNN
Bartender at the Rainbow floating restaurant in Pyongyang on September 10.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Will Ripley/CNN
Sunday afternoon row boats on the Taedong River, Pyongyang, beside Juche Tower. Taken on September 10.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Will Ripley/CNN
Participation in mass celebrations is mandatory for those privileged citizens allowed to live in the capital, Pyongyang. Taken on September 9.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Will Ripley/CNN
Pyongyang residents walk past a poster marking the 69th DPRK Foundation Day on September 9. It reads "Let the entire world look up to the great Kim Il Sung nation and Kim Jong Il Korea."
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Will Ripley/CNN
This statue in Samjiyon depicts North Korea's founding President Kim Il Sung when he was a guerrilla fighter against the Japanese. Taken on September 6.
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Will Ripley/CNN
The lobby of the CNN team's hotel in Samjiyon on September 5.
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Justin Robertson/CNN
A bus driver who drives a Japanese vehicle over some of the bumpiest roads in North Korea. Taken on September 5.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Will Ripley/CNN
Propaganda banners line the streets of Samjiyon on September 4.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Will Ripley/CNN
Public transportation in rural North Korea, near the Chinese border, taken on September 4.
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Justin Robertson/CNN
A young North Korean musician in the border town of Kaesong, taken on September 4. Music is a huge part of life in North Korea.
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Justin Robertson/CNN
North Korean tour guide at Mt Paektu outside the alleged birth place of Kim Jong Il, on September 3. Kim is widely considered to have been born in Russia.
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Will Ripley/CNN
Housing units deep in rural North Korea, near the border with China, taken on September 3.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Will Ripley/CNN
A boy living in the mountainous northeastern border region on September 3, not far from North Korea's sixth nuclear test.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Will Ripley/CNN
The view from the top of Mt Paektu on September 3, a sacred site to North Koreans close to the border with China. First time CNN has ever been allowed here.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Will Ripley/CNN
The Mausoleum of Tangun is said to hold the remains of the ancient King Tangun -- widely considered a mythical figure.
North Korea built the pyramid in 1994 and has not allowed outside experts to verify the remains inside.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Will Ripley/CNN
Sunset from inside Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, on August 31.
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Will Ripley/CNN
The crowd applauds as North Korean TV airs footage of their latest missile launch outside Pyongyang Station on August 30, 2017.
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Will Ripley/CNN
The parents in North Korea of an inadvertent defector react to a video message, shared by CNN's Will Ripley, from their daughter, who lives in South Korea and cannot return home. The family hasn't been together in years.
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Justin Robinson/CNN
May Day celebrations are held on May 1 in Pyongyang.
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Will Ripley/CNN
A North Korean boy sits in his family's living room on April 30 in Pyongyang.
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Justin Robertson/CNN
North Koreans in Pyongyang celebrate the country's 85th annual Army Day on April 25. The holiday celebrates the founding of its army.
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Justin Robertson/CNN
A North Korea veteran stands against the backdrop of the USS Pueblo, a US Navy ship that North Korea captured in 1968. CNN's Will Ripley asked this veteran about his thoughts on the USS Carl Vinson, an American aircraft carrier conducting joint drills with two Japanese destroyers in the western Pacific Ocean. The veteran told Ripley, "We can sink that aircraft carrier."
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Will Ripley/CNN
Ripley noted that in Pyongyang, children are often seen dressed in bright, colorful clothing, contrasting with the more conservative and darker outfits worn by many adults.
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Tim Schwarz/CNN
North Korean soldiers march on April 15, as the nation marks the birth of its founder, Kim Il Sung, who is also the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong Un.
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Tim Schwarz/CNN
North Koreans celebrate the birthday of Kim Il Sung. He would have been 105.
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Tim Schwarz/CNN
Tanks roll through Kim Il Sung Square on April 15.
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Tim Schwarz/CNN
North Korean air force jets fly over the Pyongyang celebration.
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Tim Schwarz/CNN
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appears at a ceremony to formally open a housing development in Pyongyang on April 13. The project was rushed to completion in under a year, North Korean officials say.
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Tim Schwarz/CNN
North Koreans gather to witness the opening of the Ryomyong Street housing development.
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Tim Schwarz/CNN
Foreign journalists are filmed by North Korean media during the Ryomyong Street event.
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Tim Schwarz/CNN
Soldiers leave the opening ceremony of the Ryomyong Street development.
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Will Ripley/CNN
North Koreans observe a statue of their founder, Kim Il Sung, at the Museum of the Korean Revolution on April 10. CNN's Will Ripley said it was the first time CNN cameras had been allowed into the Pyongyang museum.
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Will Ripley/CNN
North Koreans pose on April 9, for a photo at Mangyongdae, the birthplace of Kim Il Sung.
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Will Ripley/CNN
Boys in Pyongyang pose for a photo at a secondary school for orphans on February 19.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Will Ripley/ CNN
A tiger is seen at a zoo in Pyongyang on February 19. CNN's Will Ripley, Tim Schwarz and Justin Robertson were the only Western broadcasters reporting from North Korea after it conducted a ballistic missile test on February 12. See their dispatches.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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will ripley/CNN
CNN's Will Ripley posted this photo of the Pyongyang skyline on February 17. "Note the 105-story pyramid skyscraper, the Ryugyong Hotel. Work began in 1987. Still unfinished," Ripley said in his Instagram post.
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Wiill Ripley/CNN
North Korean soldiers ride on February 17, in a black Mercedes-Benz on the streets of Pyongyang.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Will Ripley/CNN
A 70-story apartment building undergoes construction on February 17.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Will Ripley
The floating Rainbow Restaurant is seen in Pyongyang on February 17.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Will Ripley/CNN
North Korean soldiers watch fireworks on February 16, in Pyongyang.
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Will Ripley/CNN
People use smartphones on on February 16, to take photos of an ice sculpture in Pyongyang.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Ellana Lee/CNN
A soldier stands guard in North Korea on February 16. While military service for women has long been voluntary, it reportedly was made mandatory recently in a bid to bolster the armed forces.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Will Ripley/CNN
A boy visits the Kimjongilia flower show on February 16. The red flowers are named after the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Will Ripley/CNN
University students dance in front of the Pyongyang indoor stadium on February 16.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Tim Schwarz/CNN
Book titles are listed in English at a bookshop for tourists in the Yanggakdo Hotel in Pyongyang.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Will Ripley/CNN
Ice flows down the Taedong River in Pyongyang on February 16.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Will Ripley/CNN
Soldiers pay respects to former North Korean leaders on February 15. The site is considered one of the most sacred in Pyongyang.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Will Ripley/CNN
Vendors sell flowers February 15 to mourners paying their respects to deceased leaders of North Korea.
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Justin Robertson/CNN
The view over the frozen Taedong River shows residential areas of Pyongyang on February 15.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Will Ripley/CNN
The symbol of North Korea's sole political party, the Korean Workers' Party, can be seen atop a government building in Pyongyang.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Will Ripley/CNN
Taxis are becoming more prevalent on the streets of Pyongyang. Most commuters still ride buses.
Photos: Inside North Korea
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Tim Schwartz/CNN
Tour guides told CNN's crew that "in 1948, Kim Il Sung, his wife and his then 7-year-old son, Kim Jong Il, test fired North Korea's first domestically manufactured submachine gun," Tim Schwartz said on Instagram. The guides said that all three shot bullseyes at 50 meters.
