Kristi Noem mum on whether she told ghostwriter to include Kim Jong Un ‘meeting’ in book
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem refused Monday to reveal whether she instructed her forthcoming book’s ghostwriter to write that she had met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un — despite no evidence that such a meeting ever took place and the fact that such a claim would certainly be fact-checked upon publication.
“I specifically have worked on policy for over 30 years and over that time, I have traveled around the world and I have met with leaders around the world,” Noem, 52, told “CBS Mornings.”
The Republican also refused to say once again whether she had actually met with the pariah state’s leader, simply saying: “I should not have put that anecdote in the book.”
Multiple outlets, including The Post, reported last week on Noem’s claim in her tome “No Going Back” to have greeted Kim while a member of the House Armed Services Committee between 2013 and 2015.
Noem visited US ally South Korea as part of a delegation organized by then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) in April 2014, but there are no records of her — or any legislator — ever traveling to the US adversary to the north. (Kim is not known to have left North Korea for official or unofficial visits during the period when Noem said she met with him.)
The governor has also ducked questions about why or how she didn’t catch the glaring mistake — if indeed that’s what it was — while recording the audiobook of “No Going Back.”
“I’m not talking about that meeting. I’m not talking about my meeting with world leaders,” she insisted Monday. “There are some that are in the book and then there’s some that’s [sic] not in the book — many of them, actually.”
In a galley copy seen by The Post, Noem reflected on the supposed meeting with Kim, writing: “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).”
In a Sunday interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Noem tried a different explanation, telling moderator Margaret Brennan, “I went to the DMZ [demilitarized zone]. And there are details in this book that talk about going to the DMZ and specifics that I’m willing to share.”
The DMZ is a heavily fortified, 160-mile-long buffer that divides North and South Korea, but visiting the area is not the same as setting foot in the Hermit Kingdom.
Noem also tried again Monday to address the controversy about her shooting a 14-month-old puppy roughly two decades ago, another of the notorious episodes outlined in the book.
“Oh, I love dogs. Yeah, I have a dear dog named Foster right now that goes everywhere with me,” Noem declared.
“The purpose of telling the story was so that people would know I don’t pass my responsibilities on to anybody else,” she added when asked why she didn’t simply give the dog away. “It was extremely hard for me and that’s clear when you read the story.”
The South Dakota Republican explained that Cricket, a wirehaired pointer, had been very aggressive, prompting concerns for the safety of her children.
“I hated that dog,” Noem recalled in a book excerpt previewed by the Guardian. “[Cricket was] dangerous to anyone she came in contact with.”
Later, Noem described shooting a “disgusting, musky, rancid”-smelling family goat that she said would accost her kids and knock them down.
“My political opponents have tried to use this story against me in previous campaigns. I want people to know the truth. And that’s why I put that in this book,” Noem claimed Monday.
On Sunday, Noem had evaded a question about what she meant in the book when she wrote that President Biden’s nippy former dog Commander should “say hello to” Cricket.
“How many people is enough people to be attacked and dangerously hurt before you make a decision on a dog?” she asked aloud while refraining from outright calling for Commander’s execution.
The former first dog, who is believed to have bitten dozens of people and drawn blood from a Secret Service agent, was given to Biden relatives, the White House announced in February.
Noem’s name had been tossed around as a potential vice presidential contender, only for Donald Trump campaign sources to tell The Post she had “no shot” after revealing the story of Cricket in the book.
“No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward” is slated to hit bookshelves Tuesday.
