Vice President Mike Pence stepped out to attend the 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Pyeongchang, South Korea, only to be seated near North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un’s sister.
Pence and his wife Karen Pence were seated near Kim Yo Jong, who entered the stadium and shook the hand of once-rival South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Kim Yo Jong is part of a high-level diplomatic group led by North Korea’s ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam, and she is the first member of the North’s ruling dynasty to enter the South since the Korean War.
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Vice President Mike Pence is sitting only a few feet away from Kim Yo Jong, who is the very powerful sister of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un during the winter Olympics #OpeningCeremony in South Korea. The two don’t appear to have spoken to each other. pic.twitter.com/ZyZwFYou1W
— David Hookstead (@dhookstead) February 9, 2018
Viewers watched the awkward tension between the pair unfold, and some criticized the American leader for his hypocritical words and actions.
“Mr. Pence disgracefully walked out on Americans protesting during the Anthem but seemed unbothered as he sat all night just four seats away from the second in charge of North Korea and did NOTHING,” one person wrote.
Another added, “Hey @VP Mike Pence, no one knelt during the anthem, but the lady to your right does oversee a regime threatening to nuke us. Maybe you forgot the Korean word for exit.”
@JohnBerman Mr. Pence disgracefully walked out on Americans protesting during the Anthem but seemed unbothered as he sat all night just four seats away from the second in charge of North Korea and did NOTHING. #nobackbone
— Plain Ol’ G (@theomegamd) February 9, 2018
Hey @VP Mike Pence, no one knelt during the anthem, but the lady to your right does oversee a regime threatening to nuke us. Maybe you forgot the Korean word for exit. #OpeningCeremony
— Jeremy Newberger (@jeremynewberger) February 9, 2018
Others focused on the irony of the seating arrangement as Pence and President Donald Trump have been vocal about their issues with North Korea.
“Big shoutout to the seating planner who has had a smile on their face for weeks waiting for this moment,” a viewer wrote on Twitter.
Big shout to the seating planner who has had a smile on their face for weeks waiting for this moment.
— Scott Mitchell (@s_mitchell) February 9, 2018
Kim Yong Nam and President Moon were spotted shaking hands ahead of the opening ceremony, and he reportedly met with Pence when the American leader stopped by a formal dinner on Thursday night.
Pence was expected to attend the sit-down event at a table with Kim Yong Nam and President Moon, but he arrived late, “exchanged greetings with those seated at the head table, and left without sitting down,” a spokesperson for the South Korean’s president’s office claimed.
President Moon pushed the Pyeongchang Games as a “peace Olympics” that will open the door for discussion to alleviate tensions between North and South Korea, and the world.
