Pyongyang cancells meeting with Pence in South Korea: US

US State Department spokeswoman Heather uert in a statement on Tuesday said that during Pence’s visit, “the possibility arose of a brief meeting with the North Korean delegation leaders,” but at the last minute, the North Korean officials “decided not to go forward with the meeting. We regret their failure to seize this opportunity,” she said.

uert’s statement came after The Washington Post published an exclusive about North Korea cancelling the meeting with Pence.

On February 10, less than two hours before Pence and his team were to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister Kim Yo-jong and North Korea’s nomil head of state Kim Yong-m, Pyongyang pulled out of the scheduled meeting, according to Pence’s office.

The North Korean decision to withdraw from the meeting came after Pence used his trip to denounce the North’s nuclear ambitions and announce the “toughest and most aggressive” sanctions yet against the regime, while also taking steps to further solidify the US alliance with Japan and South Korea, the Post reported. (IANS)