Mike Pence, the US vice president, said he deliberately "ignored" the sister of Kim Jong-un at the Winter Olympics in South Korea.

Mr Pence, who was shown sitting just a few feet from Kim Yo-jong at the opening ceremony, said it would not have been proper for him to acknowledge her.

He said: "I did not. I didn’t avoid her but I did ignore her. I didn't believe it was proper for the United States of America to give any attention in that form to someone who is not merely the sister of a dictator but the leader of a propaganda unit."

He said people should remember the assassination of Kim Jong-Nam, Kim Yo-jong's half brother who was killed with chemical weapons at Kuala Lumpur airport.

Mr Pence added: "This is a regime and a family that also ordered that their uncle be executed with artillery fire in front of 10,0000 people, and she is the leader of the propaganda unit of that regime. This is evil the likes of which we have witnessed rarely."