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.