North Korea canceled Olympic meeting with Pence

North Korea canceled a historic meeting with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence at the last minute during the Winter Olympics, White House officials revealed late Tuesday. Pence was expected to meet with Kim Jong Un’s younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, and nominal head of state Kim Yong Nam. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the North Korean officials decided at the last minute to cancel the meeting after Pence noted he would pressure the North to abandon its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. “We regret their failure to seize this opportunity,” Nauert said. “We will not apologize for American values, for calling attention to human rights abuses, or for mourning a young American’s unjust death.” Pence invited the father of U.S. college student Otto Warmbier, who died after he was imprisoned in North Korea, as his guest to the Olympics. Pence’s chief of staff, Nick Ayers, said North Korea “dangled a meeting in hopes of the vice president softening his message.” On Feb. 8, the Korean Central News Agency said a Foreign Ministry official noted the North had no intention of meeting with United States officials during the visit to South Korea.