North Korea pulled out of a secret meeting set up with Pence during Olympics
Right before Vice President Mike Pence was set to secretly meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister during the Winter Olympics in South Korea, the North Koreans canceled on him, his office told The Washington Post on Tuesday.
Pence and a team were going to meet with Kim Yo Jong, Kim's sister, and Kim Yong Nam, North Korea's nominal head of state, on Feb. 10, but the Koreans pulled out of the meeting less than two hours before it was scheduled to start. Pence had been vocal about sanctions and his belief that North Korea was using the Winter Games for propaganda purposes, and North Korea made it clear they did not like his remarks, Pence's office said. "This administration will stand in the way of Kim's desire to whitewash their murderous regime with nice photo ops at the Olympics," Pence's chief of staff, Nick Ayers, told the Post.
It took about two weeks to set up the meeting, which was supposed to take place at South Korea's Blue House. Not long after the cancellation, the state-run Korean Central News Agency blasted Pence, saying he "must know that his frantic acts of abusing the sacred Olympics for confrontational ruckus are as foolish and stupid an act as sweeping the sea with a broom."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
6 waterside homes that float
Feature Featuring a house with two luxury boats in Oregon and a 1968 Gibson Riverboat-turned-home in New York
By The Week Staff Published
-
The hollow classroom
Opinion Remote school let kids down. It will take much more than extra tutoring for kids to recover.
By Mark Gimein Published
-
Unpasteurised milk and the American right
Under the radar Former darling of health-conscious liberal foodies is now a 'conservative culture war signal': a sign of mistrust in experts
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Iowa's Caitlin Clark breaks NCAA scoring record
speed read College basketball star Caitlin Clark set the new record in Iowa's defeat of Ohio State
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Eight-year-old Brit Bodhana Sivanandan makes chess history
Speed Read Sivanandan has been described as a 'phenomenon' by chess masters
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Watch Simone Biles win her record 8th US gymnastics championship
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Spain beats England 1-0 to win its first Women's World Cup
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
US knocked out of Women's World Cup in stunning exit
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Katie Ledecky surpasses Michael Phelps for most world championship titles
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Marketa Vondrousova becomes first unseeded woman to win Wimbledon
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Former Mets player receives annual $1.1M payout despite retiring in 2001
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published