World War 3: North Korea EMBARRASS Trump by snubbing USA HOURS before secret meeting

Mr Pence was set to hold a secret meeting with North Korean officials while at the Olympic Games on February 10, but the communist kingdom pulled out less than two hours before it was scheduled, according to the Washington Post.

Pence was going to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, and the nominal head of state, Kim Yong Nam.

But the Vice President announced the US was soon to unveil the “toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea ever”.

Mr Pence’s chief of staff Nick Ayres told the Post: “North Korea dangled a meeting in hopes of the Vice President softening his message, which would have ceded the world stage for their propaganda during the Olympics.

“This administration will stand in the way of Kim’s desire to whitewash their murderous regime with nice photo ops at the Olympics.

“Perhaps that’s why they walked away from a meeting or perhaps they were never sincere about sitting down.”

The meeting was in the works for a week and scheduled to be held before Pence left for his trip through Asia.

Mr Pence was expected to use the meeting to put forth the Trump administration’s stance against North Korea.

He said leading up to the games that he wanted to use his appearance to push back against any favourable media narrative North Korea had generated by attending the Olympics.

The Vice President caused controversy when he sat near Kim Yo Jong during the opening ceremonies, but did not acknowledge her.

Tensions between North and South Korea have cooled after the two rivals engaged in talks for the first time in years.

But the Trump administration has taken a tougher stance.

Mr Pence said he is willing to talk to North Korea but the US will continue to pressure the rogue state to abandon its nuclear weapons programme.

The US and South Korea have announced they will continue with joint military drills after the Olympics.

North Korea sees these annual war games as preparation for a US invasion and officials in Pyongyang have previously said they could retaliate with a missile attack on the American mainland.

But despite these threats, and despite warming relations between Seoul and Pyongyang, South Korea confirmed today the drills will still go ahead.

The exercises had been postponed until after the Winter Olympics in South Korea but the war games will now be held in April.

Kim Jong-un’s mouthpiece the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) blasted the military drills, saying: “It was disclosed that the US staged a military drill codenamed Warrior Strike in league with the South Korean military warmongers on the threshold of the Winter Olympics, under the pretext of improving the skills to remove the DPRK’s nuclear weapons and missiles.

“From the start, the US did not want to see the improvement of inter-Korean relations and has done things only harmful to the atmosphere for improved relations and detente by deliberately aggravating the situation.

“Such actions convince the DPRK once again that the interference and aggression moves of the US, chiefly responsible for the aggravation of situation, should be decisively smashed to ensure the smooth progress of improved inter-Korean relations and peace on the Korean Peninsula.

“The US is the very one that escalates the tensions on the peninsula and stands in the way of the reunification of the Korean nation.

“If the atmosphere for improved inter-Korean relations and detente is spoiled, the entire blame for it will rest with the US. With any tricks, the US can never get rid of the responsibility.”