US Governor Who Claimed "Killed Pet Dog" Now Lies About Meeting Kim Jong-un

In Memoir, "Met Kim Jong-un During Federal House Representative Days"
Actual Meeting Did Not Occur... After Controversy, "Mistake. Will Correct"

Christy Noem (52), Governor of South Dakota and a rumored running mate (vice presidential candidate) of former U.S. President Donald Trump, is embroiled in controversy for falsely claiming in her memoir that she met Kim Jong-un, Chairman of North Korea. Previously, she faced severe criticism after revealing in the same memoir that she shot and killed her pet dog.

On the 3rd (local time), the Associated Press reported that Governor Noem stated in her upcoming memoir, "No Going Back," that she met North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un while serving as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. In the book, Noem wrote, "During my tenure on the House Armed Services Committee, I had the opportunity to visit several countries to meet world leaders," adding, "Some of the leaders wanted our help, and some did not."

Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota, USA (left), and former President Donald Trump
[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

She continued, "I remember the time I met North Korea's dictator Kim Jong-un," and said, "I am sure he underestimated me because he had no idea that I had experience staring down 'little tyrants.'" She added in parentheses that she had worked as a pastor responsible for children. This is interpreted as a metaphor comparing her experience dealing with unruly children at church to her alleged meeting with Chairman Kim Jong-un.

While Governor Noem appears to have introduced various anecdotes with world leaders in her memoir to highlight her diverse diplomatic experience, the meeting with Kim Jong-un never actually took place. Sid Saylor, former North Korea analyst at the U.S. National Intelligence Council (NIC) under the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), said, "The period when Noem served on the House Armed Services Committee from 2013 to 2015 was a time of heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea," adding, "I worked at the White House and State Department then, but I never heard of any U.S. congressional delegation meeting Kim Jong-un. Such an event did not happen." Noem did visit South Korea, Japan, and China in 2014 as part of a congressional delegation.

On the 23rd of last month, North Korea's Korean Central News Agency reported that under the leadership of Chairman Kim Jong-un, a comprehensive tactical exercise simulating a nuclear counterattack was conducted using super-large multiple rocket launchers.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Noem's spokesperson, Ian Fury, explained amid the controversy that "Noem mistakenly included Kim Jong-un while listing world leaders she met," and said, "The relevant content will be corrected in future editions of the memoir." There are other contentious claims as well. Noem asserted that she canceled a scheduled meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris last November because Macron made 'pro-Hamas' remarks. In response, the French presidential office told the AP, "Noem may have been invited to an event that President Macron was attending, but there was no 'direct invitation' for a meeting with President Macron."

Earlier, in the same memoir, Noem shocked readers by revealing that she shot and killed her 14-month-old female puppy due to excessive aggression. She confessed that the dog, named "Cricket," was expected to become a well-trained hunting dog but showed extreme aggression, leading her to shoot it in a gravel field. Cricket not only ruined hunts by chasing birds in an excited state but also harmed local residents' chickens and even tried to bite Noem herself. Noem wrote that Cricket "acted like a trained assassin," adding, "I hated that dog. It was dangerous to everyone I came into contact with and worthless as a hunting dog." She further stated, "Ultimately, I decided to put Cricket down. It was not a pleasant thing, but it had to be done."

While the decision to disclose such content despite the risks seems intended to emphasize her decisiveness, the memoir has instead sparked reactions calling it "shocking" and "cruel," with some even suggesting that it has diminished her chances of becoming a vice presidential candidate. Noem served as a South Dakota state representative before becoming the first female governor of South Dakota in 2019.