Pence to tour North Dakota’s nuclear weapons base

FILE: Vice-President Mike Pence (Photo;: Michael Vadon/Flickr)

MINOT, N.D. — Vice-President Mike Pence is headed for North Dakota’s Minot Air Force Base, the second time in six weeks that a top Trump administration official has visited the nuclear weapons base.

Pence’s visit Friday is billed as a tour that includes Minot’s launch facility for intercontinental ballistic missiles. He’s also scheduled to address service members.

Defence Secretary James Mattis toured the base in September in a visit widely seen as a reminder to North Korea of U.S. nuclear capabilities.

Minot has one of the nation’s two B-52 bomber bases and is home to the 91st Missile Wing, which operates 150 of the Air Force’s 450 Minuteman 3 nuclear missiles.

Sen. John Hoeven says the administration is putting much-needed funding into the base to maintain a “modern nuclear force.”