American Vice President Mike Pence recently took on a 6-day tour to visit American allies and sensitize them on the dangers North Korea poses with its nuclear program. His last stretch of the tour was a three-day visit to South Korea in the company of an American delegation to attend the Winter Olympic Games opening ceremony.
Pence stated that his main agenda in the South was to make sure North Korea does not steal the show as it was jointly participating in the Olympics with South Korea. The South is considered an ally of the US and has worked together with America in enforcing sanctions against North Korea.
Meeting with North Korea
Before embarking on his trip, Pence told reporters in Washington that he would not root out the possibility of meeting some high ranking North Korea officials while at the South Korea Winter Olympics Games. Later, Donald Trump dismissed such claims telling Americans not to read too much into Pence’s statement because there were no initial plans to meet with North Korea.
As revealed by Heather Nauert, the State Department Spokeswoman, there was no indication that the meeting was planned. Until Tuesday 20 when the State Department publicized the issue, it was not known that there was a planned meeting between North Korea and the US. Pence’s statement suggested that the meeting he expected to have with the North was just a possibility and nothing planned.
As it turns out, Mike Pence was planning to hold a history-making meeting with North Korean officials during the Winter Olympics in South Korea but it was canceled by Kim Jong Un’s government at the last minute. Heather stated that Pence was ready to take the opportunity which he would have used to insist that Pyongyang abandon its nuclear program. She added that at the last minute North Korea officials communicated to drop the meeting hence failed to seize the opportunity.
Schematics on the Meeting
Trump’s administration stated that the US expected the meeting to happen on February 10 marked the last day of Pence’s visit in South Korea. The administration did not appraise Americans on whether the US received notice from North Korea that the meeting had been canceled or where the meeting would have taken place.
It was also not clear if the meeting was planned before Mike Pence arrived in South Korea or while at the Winter Games. A day before he arrived in South Korea, Mike Pence informed reporters that they have not requested a meeting with North Korea. On the other hand, the North also made it clear that they had no interest in meeting with the US.
