US era of patience with N Korea over

US Vice President Mike Pence yesterday warned North Korea not to test Donald Trump's resolve, declaring that "all options are on the table" in curbing its missile and nuclear weapons programmes.

Defying international pressure, the North Sunday test-fired another missile as fears grow that it may be preparing for its sixth atomic weapons test.

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"We hope to achieve this objective (the North's denuclearisation) through peaceful means but all options are on the table," Pence told a press conference in the South Korean capital after his trip to the tense border with the North.

"Just in the past two weeks, the world witnessed the strength and resolve of our new president in actions taken in Syria and Afghanistan.

"North Korea would do well not to test his resolve, or the strength of the armed forces of the United States in this region," Pence said at the press conference with South Korea's Acting President Hwang Kyo-Ahn.

Tensions between Pyongyang and Washington have soared in recent weeks, as a series of North Korean missile tests have prompted ever-more bellicose warnings from Trump's administration.

The new and inexperienced US president has indicated he will not allow North Korea to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the western United States.

Pence declared that the era of US "strategic patience" in dealing with the North was over, after more than two decades.

North Korea "answered our overtures with wilful deception, broken promises and nuclear and missile tests", he said.

The US, which stations 28,500 troops in South Korea, would "defeat any attack and we will meet any use of conventional or nuclear weapons with an overwhelming and effective response".

Pence's trip earlier yesterday to the Demilitarised Zone between the two Koreas -- one of the most heavily fortified frontiers on the planet -- underscored Washington's changing policy towards the isolated state.

Speaking at the village of Panmunjom inside the DMZ, Pence said America's relationship with South Korea was "ironclad and immutable".

RUSSIA WARNS US

Russia yesterday warned Washington against launching a unilateral strike on North Korea.

"This is a very risky path," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a news conference in Moscow.

"We do not accept the reckless nuclear missile actions of Pyongyang that breach UN resolutions, but that does not mean that you can break international law," he said.

"I hope that there will not be any unilateral actions like the one we saw recently in Syria."

Pyongyang insists it needs a powerful arsenal -- including atomic weapons -- to protect itself from what it says is the ever-present threat of US invasion.

Pence urged the international community to join US and regional demands for an end to the North's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

"It is heartening to see China commit to these actions. But the United States is troubled by China's economic retaliation against South Korea for taking appropriate steps to defend itself," he said, referring to the US THAAD missile defence system.

Pence said he and Trump "have great confidence that China will properly deal with North Korea".

"But as President Trump made clear just a few short days ago, if China is unable to deal with North Korea, the United States and our allies will."

This is Pence's first visit to South Korea -- part of an Asia swing that will also include stops in Japan, Indonesia and Australia -- and although it was conceived months ago, could hardly come at a time of higher tension.