File Photo: Visiting U.S. Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the meeting with military personnel of NATO battlegroup in Estonia, in Tallinn, capital of Estonia, July 31, 2017. (Xinhua/Sergei Stepanov)
WASHINGTON, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Mike Pence was set to meet with officials from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) during the Winter Olympics in South Korea but Pyongyang canceled the meeting, U.S. media reported Tuesday, citing Pence's office.
Pence, who led the U.S. delegation to the Winter Games in South Korea's PyeongChang, was expected to meet with Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, and Kim Yo Jong, the younger sister of DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, on Feb. 10.
Kim Yong Nam(L), the president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is welcomed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife before a pre-opening ceremony reception of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, Feb. 9, 2018. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei)
Pyongyang's withdrawal came after Pence threatened to slap the "toughest and most aggressive" sanctions on the DPRK on Feb. 7 in Tokyo, the first stop of his five-day trip to Asia.
According to The Washington Post, the DPRK called off the meeting less than two hours before it was to take place.
While attending the Winter Olympics, Pence avoided interactions with DPRK officials in public.
In an interview aboard Air Force Two on the way home from PyeongChang, Pence told a U.S. reporter that while keeping maximum pressure on the DPRK, the United States and South Korea agreed to further engage with Pyongyang.
The DPRK sent its athletes and cheerleaders as well as a high-ranking delegation to PyeongChang, showing its willingness to improve inter-Korean relations and ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Cheerleaders of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) cheer during the pair skating short program of figure skating at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, in Gangneung Ice Arena, South Korea, on Feb. 14, 2018. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)
Kim Yo Jong also delivered the DPRK leader's invitation to South Korean President Moon Jae-in to visit Pyongyang at a convenient time, opening a possibility for the third inter-Korean summit meeting.