During his visit to South Korea, Vice President Mike Pence was scheduled to meet with Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but it was cancelled two hours before it was supposed to happen, the Washington Post reported and the State Department has now confirmed.

“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.”

— Nick Ayers, the vice president’s chief of staff

Why it matters: Pence took a far more hardline tone against the North Koreans during his trip to Asia, the Post says, in contrast to "the image of progress being promoted by the South Koreans, who would also have been eager to involve the United States in direct talks with the North."

From State Dept. spokesperson Heather Nauert: