S. Dakota Governor Noem Falsely Describes Meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in New Book

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem detailed in a new book that she met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during her time in Congress. But her office said Friday that the story of the meeting was a mistake as further investigation into the Republican governor’s life story was underway. Noem has already faced backlash for a description of how she shot a hunting dog. The book was part of an open pitch to be chosen as a running mate for Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. But her political prospects have slumped amid a bipartisan backlash over how she said she killed her 14-month-old wire-haired pointer named Cricket after he displayed aggressive behavior and killed her neighbor’s chickens.

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• Misreported meeting in Noem’s book: South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem falsely claimed in her upcoming book that she met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during her tenure in Congress. This was later corrected by her office, stating that it was a mistake, and that no such meeting took place. The correction comes amid other controversial anecdotes in her book aimed at boosting her political image.
• Book corrections and political consequences: The book, intended to boost Noem’s credentials for a possible vice presidential run with Donald Trump, contains other errors and controversial stories, including an inaccurate account of a planned meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. These inaccuracies and the depiction of her dog being shot have led to criticism from both sides.
• Impact on Noem’s reputation: The misstatements and nature of the stories shared in her book have drawn criticism and ridicule, which has affected Noem’s political standing. Her team acknowledged the errors, attributed them to the ghostwriter and promised corrections in future editions of the book.

The Associated Press has the story:

S. Dakota Governor Noem Falsely Describes Meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un in New Book

Newslooks – WASHINGTON (AP) —

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem detailed in a new book that she met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during her time in Congress. But her office said Friday that the story of the meeting was a mistake as further investigation into the Republican governor’s life story was underway.

Noem has already faced backlash for a description of how she shot a hunting dog. The book was part of an open pitch to be chosen as a running mate for Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. But her political prospects have slumped amid a bipartisan backlash over how she said she killed her 14-month-old wire-haired pointer named Cricket after he displayed aggressive behavior and killed her neighbor’s chickens.

In her forthcoming book, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward,” Noem details instances in which she has stood up to international leaders — anecdotes that are said to have bolstered her foreign support. policy experience – but these were questioned. She writes about meeting Kim Jong Un while working in Congress, and more recently about canceling a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron

After The Dakota Scout first reported Noem’s descriptions of the meetings, her spokesman Ian Fury said in a statement: “It was brought to our attention that the forthcoming book ‘No Going Back’ contains two minor errors. This has been communicated to the ghostwriter and editor.”

Fury said Kim was wrongly included in a list of world leaders Noem met, and she also mistaken the dates she spoke with former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.

“The book has not yet been released and all future editions will be corrected,” Fury added.

In the book, Noem wrote: “During my tenure on the House Armed Services Committee, I had the opportunity to travel to many countries to meet with world leaders – some who wanted our help, and some who did not. I remember meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. I’m sure he underestimated me because he had no idea of ​​my experience staring down little tyrants (after all, I had been a children’s pastor).”

The description of such a meeting was quickly met with skepticism by experts on US-North Korea relations. When Noem served on the House Armed Services Committee from 2013 to 2015, relations between North Korea and the U.S. were tense and a meeting with Kim by a congressional delegation would have raised a lot of awareness, said Syd Seiler, a former U.S. intelligence officer who has spent decades working on its relationship with North Korea.

“Nothing like that happened,” he said, adding that he worked at the White House and State Department during that period and was not informed of a congressional meeting with Kim.

Noem took part in an international conference trip, known as a codel, to Japan, South Korea and China in 2014.

In the book, Noem also writes that she “met” with Macron last November while in Paris for a conference of European conservative leaders, but later canceled when he made comments she considered “pro-Hamas.”

However, Macron’s office told The Associated Press that no “direct invitation” had been extended to Noem to meet the French president, although it did not rule out that she may have been invited to an event in Paris where he would also attend.

Fury said: “The governor was invited to sit in President Macron’s box for the armistice parade at the Arc de Triomphe. After his anti-Israel comments, she chose to cancel.”

Meanwhile, Noem is trying to fend off bipartisan backlash for the book’s description of the shooting of her hunting dog and a goat.

“Don’t believe the twisted spin of the #fakenews media,” she posted this week on X, formerly Twitter. “I had a choice between the safety of my children and an animal that had a history of attacking people and killing livestock.”

Her spokesperson Fury also called the investigation into the errors in Noem’s book biased, saying: “The media will of course try to make big of these small issues, but will continue to downplay Joe Biden’s repeated and false claims…”

Still, members of Congress have poked fun at Noem, with representatives from Jared Moskowitz, Florida Democrat, Susan Wild. a Democrat from Pennsylvania. and Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican who is launching a Congressional Dog Lovers Caucus this week.

Moskowitz said on X that one of the group’s rules was: “You can’t kill a puppy.”

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