North Korea says it's not interested in meeting US VP Pence
Posted February 07, 2018 6:00 am
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) - North Korea says it is not interested in meeting U.S. Vice President Mike Pence while he is in South Korea for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
Pyongyang is sending a senior delegation - including Kim Jong Un's younger sister - and rumors had circulated such a meeting could be in the works. A top Foreign Ministry official seemed to rule that out in comments carried by the North's state-run media on Thursday.
"We have no intention to meet with the U.S. side during the stay in South Korea," the official was quoted as saying. "We are not going to use such sports festival as the Winter Olympics as a political lever. There is no need to do so."
Pence is scheduled to arrive in South Korea from Japan on Thursday.
South Korean army's armored vehicles move during a military exercise in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. Vice President Mike Pence said the U.S. is preparing to announce the "toughest and most aggressive" economic sanctions against North Korea in the coming days, boosting pressure on the bellicose government during the Winter Olympics. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
The Associated Press
FILE - This 2015, file photo provided by the North Korean government shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his sister Kim Yo Jong, left, during their visit to a military unit in North Korea. South Koreaâs Unification Ministry said North Korea informed Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, that Kim Yo Jong would be part of the high-level delegation coming to the South for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)
The Associated Press
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