TOKYO — U.S. Vice President Mike Pence assured Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe today that the United States stands “100 percent” behind its anchor ally in Asia in working to defuse risks from North Korea’s nuclear program.

Pence struck a stern tone as he began talks with Abe and other Japanese leaders after arriving at a U.S. naval base from South Korea.

“We appreciate the challenging times in which the people of Japan live with increasing provocations from across the Sea of Japan,” Pence said. “We are with you 100 percent.”

The Trump administration has signaled a more forceful U.S. stance toward North Korea’s recent missile tests and threats, including a warning from Trump that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has “gotta behave.”

On Monday, Pence traveled to the tense Demilitarized Zone dividing North and South Korea, where he warned North Korea’s leaders that after years of testing the U.S. and South Korea with its nuclear ambitions, “the era of strategic patience is over.”

A senior North Korean official then accused the United States of bringing the countries to the brink of thermonuclear war.

At the outset of his meeting with Abe, Pence said that “While all options are on the table,” Trump was determined to work with Japan, South Korea and other allies in the region to resolve the problem.

Pence said Trump hopes China will use its leverage to get its longtime ally North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program.