"The Republic of Korea and the United States will implement powerful punitive measures in case of further North Korean provocations," Hwang said after meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence, as quoted by the Yonhap news agency.
The prime minister also agreed with the vice president on the fastest deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on the peninsula.
"The Korean-US alliance is a pillar of peace and prosperity on the Korean peninsula and in Northeast Asia," Hwang stressed.
Pence started a three-day visit to South Korea on Sunday amid high tensions in the region.
On Friday, US media said that US President Donald Trump might order a strike against North Korea in the event Pyongyang decided to carry out another nuclear weapon test. The reports came after Trump said that the North Korean nuclear issue would be "taken care of," while at the same time calling on China to pressure its neighbor into giving up its nuclear program. In response, the general staff of the North Korean armed forces threatened to launch a strike against US military bases in Japan and South Korea, as well as the presidential residence in Seoul in case of US aggression.
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