US Vice-President Mike Pence has said his country's "era of strategic patience" with North Korea is over.
Mr Pence made the remarks at the demilitarised zone (DMZ), the area dividing the two Koreas, during a visit to South Korea to reaffirm ties.
His visit comes amid escalated tensions on the peninsula, with heated rhetoric from both North Korea and the US.
He arrived in Seoul on Sunday hours after North Korea carried out a failed missile launch.
On Monday, the US and South Korea launched a joint air force military exercise to ensure readiness against North Korea, according to South Korean media.
Mr Pence, whose father served in the Korean War, was speaking on Monday at the truce village of Panmunjom, where the war's armistice was signed.
He told reporters: "There was a period of strategic patience, but the era of strategic patience is over."
The US wants to achieve security on the peninsula "through peaceable means, through negotiations", he said, "but all options are on the table".
Mr Pence's latest comments echoed those made by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who warned that pre-emptive military action was "on the table" when he visited the DMZ last month.
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