DMZ visit reminds Pence of father
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, second from right, along with his wife Karen and two daughters, Audrey and Charlotte, look at North Korea while listening to U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Vincent Brooks at Observation Post Ouellette in the Demilitarized Zone near the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. / Joint Press Corps
By Kim Hyo-jin
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence visited the demilitarized zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas, Monday, amid soaring tensions between the U.S. and North Korea.
The visit was viewed as a show of U.S. resolve against the North’s military provocations as it came a day after Pyongyang launched a missile that ended in failure. But it also carries a personal meaning for Pence, whose father fought in the 1950-1953 Korean War.
“It is particularly humbling for me to be here,” Pence said. “My father served in the Korean War with the U.S. Army, and on the way here we actually saw some of the terrain my father fought alongside Korean forces to help earn your freedom.”
“We are grateful to all of those who each and every day stand in the gap for freedom here at the DMZ,” he said.
He started his DMZ tour at Camp Bonifas, a U.S.-led United Nations command in the south of the DMZ. It is a camp named after a victim in a high-profile “axe murder” case in 1976. At the time, two U.S. Army officers, who were pruning a large tree in the Joint Security Area, were killed by axe-wielding North Korean soldiers.
After U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Vincent Brooks briefed Pence, he then moved to the Panmunjom truce village, which is best known for the low-slung blue United Nations huts that straddle the inter-Korean border.
Vice President Pence’s father Edward Pence served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and was awarded a Bronze Star for his service on April 15, 1953.
Pence made a twitter post in the afternoon that read, “Meaningful visit to DMZ where 64 years ago my dad earned Bronze Star in Korean War. His medal stays close in my West Wing office.”
He already mentioned it was an emotional trip for him on Air Force Two en route to Seoul, according to CNN, who accompanied Pence on the journey.
“I think about what Dad would be thinking about and is thinking about as he looks down at this third son to return to the place he came to so many years ago and the commitment that endures here that has resulted in a free and prosperous South Korea,” Pence told the reporter.
Pence made the first trip to Korea, embarking on his 10-day trip to the Asia-Pacific region. He is scheduled to visit Japan, Indonesia and Australia later in his trip. He was joined by his wife and two daughters and began his visit to Korea by paying tribute at the Seoul National Cemetery.
Pence reaffirmed a strong alliance between the U.S. and South Korea during the visit to the DMZ, calling it an “unshakable bond.”
“All options are on the table to achieve the objectives and ensure the stability of the people of this country,” he told reporters. “There was a period of strategic patience but the era of strategic patience is over.”