Chile Rejects US Request to cut Ties with North Korea

Chile has rejected the United States’ request for Latin America to cut all ties with North Korea.

As part of his his six-day tour of South America, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said "We strongly urge Chile today, and we urge Brazil, Mexico and Peru to break all diplomatic and commercial ties to North Korea … The era of strategic patience is over, with regard to North Korea. All options are on the table.”

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In response, the Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz stated that the country has "not contemplated" such a move, adding,"We respect the request from the United States, but Chile maintains relations."

Still, he added that Santiago has "strictly applied" all sanctions imposed on North Korea, or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), as it prefers to be called, by the U.N. Security Council and said the nations' ties are "distant."

In a similar vein, Chile also said it won’t support U.S. intervention in Venezuela, with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, commenting, "Chile will not support coups d'etat or military interventions.”

Last Friday, the U.S. President Donald Trump said he wouldn't rule out a "military option" against Venezuela.

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"I want to be very clear. Chile will do its utmost to support the Venezuelans in finding a peaceful way, " Bachelet said during a joint press conference.

The Chilean Committee of Solidarity with the Bolivarian People of Venezuela, while Pence met with Bachelet, burned a U.S. flag near the government palace where the meeting took place.