Vice President Pence’s team asked South Korean officials overseeing the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang to make sure he never runs into a North Korean official while at the games, according to a report Thursday morning.
Pence’s office specifically asked organizers to “ensure he would never have to cross paths with the North Korean delegation,” NBC reported on TV.
The request, unconfirmed by Pence’s office, is the latest development in tense relations between the U.S. and Kim Jong Un’s government.
This week, Pence announced the U.S. will soon unveil “the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea ever” in the near future.
One North Korean state newspaper published a quote from a government official saying the country had no intention of meeting with Pence or any other American while visiting its southern neighbor.
“We have no intention to meet with the U.S. side during the stay in South Korea,” the official said. “We are not going to use such a sports festival as the Winter Olympics as a political lever. There is no need to do so.”
U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he is fine with both parties avoiding each other.
“I think we should be clear not to politicize the games,” Guterres told NBC Thursday.
