President Donald Trump declared Monday the "era of strategic patience is over" when it comes to the United States' stance toward North Korea.

"Some people said that my rhetoric is very strong," he said during remarks at a joint news conference in Tokyo alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. "But look at what's happened with very weak rhetoric over the last 25 years. Look where we are now."

Trump referenced his meetings with family members of Japanese kidnapped by the North Korean regime, and alluded to the death of American Otto Warmbier to bolster his case for an aggressive approach toward Pyongyang.