North Korea is 'getting the message': U.S. Vice Prez Pence

United States Vice President Mike Pence has said North Korea was getting the message that it needed to walk away from its 'reckless' nuclear activity.

"As the President says, it's time for them to behave, to listen to the world community and to set aside their nuclear ambitions, their ballistic missile ambitions, and be willing to join the family of nations," Pence told CNN.

Tensions on the peninsula have ratcheted up in recent weeks amid analysts' warnings that North Korea was preparing for a sixth nuclear test.

Trump administration officials in recent days have said the Obama administration's strategy of 'strategic patience' was over. But the vice president said he was encouraged and believed North Korea was listening to the Trump administration's concerns.

"For my part, in some odd way, it's encouraging that they're getting the message," Pence said. "My hope is that they'll continue to get the message not just from the United States, here in Japan, and in South Korea, but on an increasing basis from China and countries all over the world committing to a denuclearized Korean Peninsula."

"We've moved beyond failed dialogues of the past and now we've moved into an era where President Trump is absolutely committed to marshalling the energy of the world community, of countries in the Asian-Pacific, to use economic and diplomatic power to isolate North Korea and achieve the goal of a denuclearised Korean Peninsula," he added.

While in Seoul on Monday, the vice president warned North Korea not to test the resolve of the U.S. "or the strength of our military forces," following a failed North Korean missile test.