US Vice President Mike Pence urged Latin American nations to cut off all ties with North Korea during a trip to the region Wednesday, according to news reports.
Speaking during a press conference in Santiago, Chile, Pence said the US wants to stop North Korea from obtaining goods that could help develop its nuclear and missile programs.
"We strongly urge Chile today and we urge Brazil and Mexico and Peru to break all diplomatic and commercial ties to North Korea,"
Pence said, according to the AFP, during the joint conference with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.
US Vice President Mike Pence (Yonhap)
He especially called on Chile to reclassify its wine as a luxury good under US sanctions to prevent North Korea from buying it. Such commodities can be converted into hard currency and channeled into the regime, he said.
The AFP said Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz declined the request, saying his country has "distant relations" with North Korea and continues to strictly enforce all sanctions against the North under U.N. Security Council resolutions.
In the latest resolution adopted earlier this month, the Security Council imposed tough new sanctions aimed at slashing Pyongyang's annual export revenues by a third and depriving the regime of the means to support its weapons programs. (Yonhap)
