ABC News(SEOUL) — Vice President Mike Pence is making a surprise visit to the Korean Demilitarized Zone while touring the Asia-Pacific region for the first time since taking office.
Pence landed via helicopter at Camp Bonifas, about a mile from the southern boundary of the zone, around 8:30 p.m. ET. He will be receiving a security briefing from Gen. Vincent Brooks, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea, and will then visit the Freedom House observation post in the Korean DMZ.
The visit comes just a day after North Korea’s failed missile launch, and one month since Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s visit to the DMZ, where he was notably photographed by a North Korean soldier standing on the other side of an observation post.
Briefly addressing reporters in Camp Bonifas, Pence praised the “unshakeable bond” between the U.S. and Korean people.
“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,” Pence said. “It’s a great honor to be with all of our forces.”
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