‘N. KOREA DITCHED MEETING’

WASHINGTON: US Vice-President Mike Pence was scheduled to meet with North Korean officials, including leader Kim Jong Un’s sister Kim Yo Jong, while in South Korea for the Winter Olympics but the North cancelled at the last minute, US officials said on Tuesday. Pence’s chief of staff, Nick Ayers, said the North “walked away from a meeting or perhaps they were never sincere about sitting down” after Pence condemned North Korean human rights abuses and announced plans for new economic sanctions. – Reuters