US: Pence ready to talk to NKorea, but they canceled meeting

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration says Vice President Mike Pence was ready to meet with representatives from North Korea during his visit to the Olympic Games in South Korea but that North Korea canceled at the last minute.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert says that Pence "was ready to take this opportunity" and would have used the meeting to emphasize U.S. concerns about the North's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Nauert says the U.S. regrets North Korea's "failure to seize this opportunity."