The Latest: Pence assures Abe of support against nuke threat

TOKYO (AP) — The Latest on Vice President Mike Pence's visit to Asia (all times local):

3:30 p.m.

Vice President Mike Pence is reassuring Japan of its support against the North Korean nuclear threat as he meets with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

"The United States is with you in this challenge," Pence says Wednesday as the pair begins an afternoon of talks. "And we will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Japan, the people of South Korea, and our allies and partners across the region until we achieve the global objective of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula."

Pence, who is leading the U.S. delegation to the Winter Olympics in South Korea later this week, says to Abe that aside from which group of athletes they will be cheering for at the games, "I expect we'll be agreeing on just about everything else."