U.S. military officials were reportedly stood up by their North Korean counterparts for a meeting Thursday about the return of American troop remains from the Korean war.
The meeting, scheduled for Thursday at the Demilitarized Zone between the two Koreas, had been arranged by State Department aides following Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s return from Pyongyang earlier this week.
But when officials with the Department of Defense and United Nations arrived at the DMZ Thursday, the North Koreans never showed, a source familiar with the situation told the Washington Post.
“We were ready. It just didn’t happen. They didn’t show,” the person said.
According to a statement released by South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, the country’s northern neighbors requested that the meeting be moved to July 15. The statement did not clarify whether the request was submitted before or after North Korean officials declined to show on Thursday.
The no-show by members of Kim Jong Un’s regime comes just days after North Korea criticized Pompeo for making “gangster-like” demands during his third visit to the country for high-level nuclear talks.
It isn’t the first time North Korean officials have kept U.S. officials waiting. Ahead of President Trump’s summit with Kim in Singapore, the White House revealed that top officials from Pyongyang never arrived for a planning meeting with Trump administration officials.
According to the Post, about 7,700 U.S. troop remains from the Korean War remain unaccounted for. Trump claimed during a rally last month that Pyongyang had already “sent back” 200 remains.
