Following a barrage of ballistic missile tests by the regime of North Korean strongman Kim Jong Un – who over the weekend debuted a new anti-aircraft weapon system – Colorado’s U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner set out on mission to South Korea this week to meet its new leadership and reinforce U.S. ties. The Republican junior senator is making the east Asia trip to Korea and other U.S. allies in his capacity as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, his office said.

Gardner will be one of the first senior U.S. elected officials to visit South Korean leaders since the election of President Moon Jae-in following the impeachment of his predecessor, Park Geun-hye. Gardner’s office said the senator will reiterate to South Korean officials in Seoul the importance of a strong alliance with the U.S. and what can be done to further strengthen security, economic, and diplomatic ties.

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Gardner also is expected to meet with members of the U.S. Pacific Command, whose theater of operation includes the Korean peninsula.

Gardner – who has engaged in a war of words with the North Korean government – has been carving out a reputation as the Senate’s point man on policy toward the rogue regime. He has been a leading voice for closer relations with South Korea as well as for greater pressure on the north. He is the author of the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act, which authorized sanctions on the north for its nuclear and missile development as well as human rights violations.

In a statement released by his office, Gardner said:

“The time for rhetoric on North Korea is over. It is time for concerted action to peacefully denuclearize North Korea. I’m going to continue to urge the administration to ramp up economic sanctions on China, and ensure South Korean leaders that their strong friend and ally, the United States, will be at their side as tensions grow in the region.”