Noem publisher removing North Korea leader meeting reference from book

( The Hill ) – The publisher of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s (R) upcoming book said it will remove an anecdote about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un from reprints at her request.

Noem’s book has faced scrutiny in recent days for including the anecdote, which describes her meeting the North Korean leader while traveling during her days in Congress. After multiple reports raised questions about its accuracy, a spokesperson for her office said Kim “was included in a list of world leaders and shouldn’t have been.”

Center Street, the publisher for Noem and other conservative politicians, said Sunday it will remove the passage about Kim from reprints of the book, “No Going Back,” at the request of the governor. It will also remove the passage “as soon as technically possible” from the e-book and audiobook editions.

The publisher referred any further questions to Noem on the issue.

Noem said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday that she addressed the issue in her book as soon as it was brought to her attention but did not directly say whether she met Kim.

“You know, as soon as this was brought to my attention, I certainly made some changes and looked at this passage, and I’ve met with many, many world leaders. I’ve traveled around the world. As soon as it was brought to my attention, we went forward and have made some edits,” Noem told host Margaret Brennan when asked if she ever met Kim.

She added she has met with “many world leaders,” but again did not say whether she met Kim.

The Associated Press noted that Noem traveled to China, Japan and South Korea as part of a codel in 2014.

In her CBS interview on Sunday, Brennan pressed Noem on whom she may have confused Kim with, noting that she “never went to North Korea.” Noem pushed back, saying “Yes, I have. I’ve been there.”

“I went to the DMZ. And there are details — there details in this book that talk about going to the DMZ and specifics that I’m willing to share. There’s some specifics I’m not willing to share with you. I’ve traveled the world, and I visited with world leaders. And some of that is referenced in the book,” Noem told Brennan when pushed further on whether she went to North Korea.

“And this anecdote is something that when it was brought to my attention, we made some changes, and when the book is released, we’ll do all that we can to see that, that that is reflected,” the governor added.

The book reportedly described an instance in which she met with Kim while she was traveling.

“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),” she wrote in the book, which was obtained by numerous outlets.

The Kim anecdote is not the only controversy facing the GOP vice presidential hopeful in connection to her forthcoming book, which is slated to be released Tuesday. Noem has sparked criticism for also including a detailed story about how she shot and killed her 14-month-old dog, Cricket.

She has repeatedly defended herself over the story, saying she killed the dog to protect her children.

–Updated at 11:07 a.m.

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