US Vice President Mike Pence said on Saturday the United States would honour a controversial refugee deal with Australia, under which the United States would resettle 1250 asylum seekers, a deal President Donald Trump had described as "dumb".
Pence told a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Sydney that the deal would be subject to vetting, and that honouring the deal "doesn't mean that we admire the agreement".
Pence also said an aircraft carrier strike group, led by the USS Carl Vinson, heading for waters off the Korean peninsula would be in the Sea of Japan within days.
He said Washington believed that a nuclear-free Korean peninsula could be achieved peacefully because of the Trump administration's new engagement with China.
