Pence postponing trip to Brazil ahead of North Korea meeting

  • Vice President Mike Pence is postponing a planned trip to Brazil.
  • The trip is being postponed to avoid pulling national security resources away from President Donald Trump as he prepares for a historic meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
A television news report showing pictures of President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a railway station in Seoul on March 9, 2018.
Jung Yeon-Je | AFP | Getty Images
A television news report showing pictures of President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a railway station in Seoul on March 9, 2018.

Vice President Mike Pence is postponing a planned trip to Brazil this month as President Donald Trump prepares for a historic meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The vice president had been expected to visit Brazil in late May. But his office says the trip is being postponed to avoid pulling national security resources away from Trump's planned meeting with Kim.

Trump has not yet announced a date or location for the meeting. But he has said he favors holding the meeting at the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea.

Pence's office says by remaining in the U.S. the vice president will be able to support the president and the national security team as the North Korean meeting approaches. Trump is pushing to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.