US officials say Mike Pence had planned to meet with North Korean officials earlier this month - but claim the North Koreans cancelled at the last minute.
It happened when the US vice president was in South Korea for the opening of the Winter Olympics.
Kim Yo Jong, the sister of Kim Jong Un, was also at the ceremony, leading a delegation sent by the North Korean regime.
However, the US and North Korean officials did not interact - despite Mr Pence and Ms Kim being photographed sitting mere metres apart.
In a series of tweets last night, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert confirmed that a meeting had in fact been planned.
She said: "[Mr] Pence was ready to take this opportunity to drive home the necessity of [the Democratic People's Republic of Korea] abandoning its illicit ballistic missile and nuclear programs."
At the last minute, #DPRK officials decided not to go forward with the meeting. We regret their failure to seize this opportunity. We will not apologize for American values, for calling attention to human rights abuses, or for mourning a young American’s unjust death.
— Heather Nauert (@statedeptspox) February 21, 2018
The Washington Post reports that the North Korean decision came after Mr Pence denounced that country's nuclear ambitions and announced a further series of US sanctions against the secretive country.
While Mr Pence ultimately didn't meet Ms Kim, she did meet with South Korean president Moon Jae-in - even delivering a hand-written letter from her brother inviting Mr Moon to a summit in Pyongyang.
