North Korea’s envoy was denied a visa.
Plans for the first contact between North Korea and the United States after President Donald Trump took office were canceled after the U. S. State Department denied a visa for the top envoy from Pyongyang, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.
The talks, between senior North Korean foreign ministry envoy Choe Son Hui and former U. S. officials, were scheduled to take place on March 1 and 2 in New York but were called off after Choe was denied a visa, the Journal said.
It was not clear what led the State Department to deny the visa but North Korea’s test-firing of a ballistic missile on Feb. 12 and the murder of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half brother in Malaysia may have played a role, the report said.
South Korean and U. S. officials have said they believe North Korean agents assassinated Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half brother of Kim Jong-un, on Feb. 13.
A U. S. State Department official denied so-called track two discussions had been scheduled.
