President Trump’s announcement last week on the sanctions raised eyebrows as he said he was reversing sanctions that had been announced that day but which had not.
The charge of a sanctions breach comes as Washington engages North Korea in a bid to convince Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons.
Donald Trump said he didn’t want to use the term 'maximum pressure' any more, because the two sides were 'getting along.'
On 23 February, the United States said it was imposing its largest package of sanctions to pressure North Korea to give up its nuclear and missile programmes.
North Korea accused the US of trying to undermine an improvement in inter-Korean relations during the Winter Olympics.
The US also proposed a list of entities to be blacklisted under separate UN sanctions.
Pence said he did not greet the delegation given that North Korea’s was “the most tyrannical and oppressive regime on the planet.”
World powers have imposed growing sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
The US Treasury imposed sanctions on nine entities, 16 people and six North Korean ships it accused of helping the weapons programs.
Kim also said he was open to the possibility of North Korean athletes taking part in Winter Olympics South Korea hosts next month.
The new US steps were the latest in a campaign aimed at forcing North Korea to abandon a weapons programme.
A senior official of the Trump administration confirmed efforts were under way to negotiate a new UN resolution, but added that there had been no agreement.
In September, the council put a cap of 2 million barrels a year on refined petroleum products exports to North Korea.
Trump also thanked Putin “for acknowledging America’s strong economic performance in his annual press conference,” the statement said.
North Korea’s foreign ministry blamed the drills and “confrontational warmongering” by US officials for making war inevitable.
Airlines are already avoiding North Korean airspace and some have re-routed flights to avoid portions of the Sea of Japan because of the missile tests.
Donald Trump’s ban also covers people from North Korea and certain government officials from Venezuela.
The Trump administration has repeatedly said all options were on the table in dealing with North Korea’s ballistic and nuclear weapons program.
