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Kristi Noem stokes another controversy as she falsely claims a meeting with Kim Jong Un in upcoming book

ByShweta Kukreti
May 03, 2024 10:57 PM IST

In her new book, Kristi Noem claimed she met with North Korea's Kim Jong Un during her tenure on the House Armed Services Committee and “starred him down.”

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, who has been labelled as ‘puppy killer’ by the critics, has brought an unending storm on social media with explosive claims in her upcoming book, which will hit the shelves on May 7.

In her book, the South Dakota Governor also claimed to have called off a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron during her tenure as governor last year.(X/AP)
In her book, the South Dakota Governor also claimed to have called off a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron during her tenure as governor last year.(X/AP)

After admitting to killing a 14-month-old dog ‘Cricket’ and a family goat, Kristi Noem is now being targetted for falsely claiming in her book “No Going Back” that she met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during her tenure on the House Armed Services Committee and “starred him down.” She serve in the committee from 2013 to 2015.

Kristi Noem recalls meeting with Kim Jong Un in her new book

While Noem hasn't provided any details about her meeting with Kim, she writes: “I had the chance to travel to many countries to meet with world leaders. I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. I’m sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants (I’d been a children’s pastor, after all)."

“Dealing with foreign leaders takes resolve, preparation and determination. My experiences on those many foreign trips made me a better member of Congress and a stronger governor. It allowed me to hone my deal-making skills, which play a crucial role in leadership.”

In her book, the South Dakota Governor also claimed to have called off a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron during her tenure as governor last year. In contrast to her claims, the French president's staff reportedly acknowledged to The Dakota Scout that Macron and Noem never had an arranged meeting.

"It's bullshit," declared a senior Capitol Hill employee who was employed by the House Armed Services Committee at the time the GOP leader said she met the North Korean dictator.

George A. Lopez, a professor at the University of Notre Dame and expert on North Korea, said that he sees "no conceivable way that a single junior member of Congress without explicit escort from the US State Department and military would be meeting with a leader from North Korea."

Another well-known North Korean watcher, Benjamin Young, an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, dismissed Noem's claims, stating that “There’s no way."

Veteran North Korea observers were also startled by Noem's reference to Kim as "president," despite the fact that his official title is "chairman."

Kristi Noem's spokesman addresses her claims

Ian Fury, a spokesman for Noem, initially told The Post on Thursday that the governor will not be disclosing the details of her meetings with global leaders. “If she wanted to share those, she would have outlined them in the book,” he stressed.

However, the spokesman took a U-turn just a few hours later and confirmed that the publisher of Noem's book “will be addressing conflated world leaders’ names in the book before it is released.”

Noem said she had also met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Jordan's King Abdullah II, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Kristi Noem faces backlash: 'Not just puppy-killer, she’s also a fantasist'

The 52-year-old Republican drawn outrage and mockery for her claims, with one X user tweeting, “she’s legit insane with her pretend meeting with him.”

Bill Kristol, Editor at large & Morning Shots co-author, said in a tweet, “It turns out that Gov. Noem is not just a puppy-killer. She’s also a fantasist. In her forthcoming book, she tells a story about a memorable meeting she had as a member of Congress with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.”

Taking a dig at Noem, one X user wrote: "Kristi Noem: I’ll never forget the time I met Kim Jong un in the gravel pit."

"UPDATE: she has revised her statement to say she had no choice but to stare down Kim Jong Un because he was biting her children," wrote Dispatches and drama from Seattle protest scene.

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