Ivanka Trump
The eldest daughter of the president of United States, Donald Trump, will not meet with members of the North Korean regime during her visit to South Korea, where she will lead the US delegation attending the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games, official sources reported today.
"The purpose of the trip is to support our athletes, reaffirm the alliance between United States and South Korea, and celebrate the success of the Olympic Games. These are the reasons why not only Ivanka Trump, but the entire delegation, will be there," said a US official, who requested anonymity.
This statement comes after the State Department reported on Tuesday that the Pyongyang regime had canceled "at the last minute" a meeting between US Vice President, Mike Pence, and Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The North Korean representatives reportedly canceled the meeting two hours in advance because, from their point of view, Pence used the trip to South Korea to announce the "harshest and most aggressive" sanctions against Pyongyang, as reported exclusively by the Washington Post.
The president's advisor is expected to land on February 23 in Seoul, where she will have dinner with South Korean president, Moon Jae-in.
Once in Pyeongchang, Ivanka will attend various sports competitions on Saturday and will attend the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games on Sunday, before returning to the United States on Monday.
Alongside the president's daughter, the US delegation will include the White House spokesperson, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and the general Vincent Brooks, commander-in-chief of the US Armed Forces deployed in South Korea.
The fact that the president's daughter is leading the delegation is due, according to the government, to Ivanka's passion for winter sports and her relationship with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), with whom she has discussed the possibility of organizing Olympic Games in the United States in the past.