Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to Pyeongchang, South Korea, began Friday with an embarrassing episode after he found himself without a seat after showing up late at a VIP reception before the Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
Pence, who is representing President Donald Trump’s administration at the games, didn’t get the VIP treatment after arriving late at a VIP reception, The Washington Post’s Anna Fifield reported.
Then it got even more awkward.
Pence greeted or shook hands with everyone around a table of dignitaries, except North Korea’s ceremonial head of state, Kim Yong Nam, the Post noted.
Kim was seated between United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and International Olympic Committee Chairman Thomas Bach, so the apparent snub likely created a bit of tension.
Left out in the cold, Pence then decided to dine with the U.S. athletes instead, according to the report.
Reuters reported that Pence had planned to stay at the reception briefly because of his appointment with the Americans.
