Kristi Noem wrote in her memoir that she’d met Kim Jong Un. Now she’s walking that claim back

In her forthcoming memoir No Going Back, South Dakota governor and potential Trump VP pick Kristi Noem seeks to establish a no-nonsense reputation and call out “fake” politicians, but the book is attracting controversy for a series of exaggerated claims Ms Noem makes to establish her own bona fides.

That continued in an interview Sunday with CBS’s Face the Nation, where the Republican leader refused to directly answer if she lied about meeting North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, after a version of No Going Back made such a claim in its pages.

“I’m not going to talk about my specific meetings with world leaders,” she told host Margaret Brennan. “I’m just not going to do that. This anecdote shouldn’t have been in the book and as soon it was brought to my attention, I made sure that that was adjusted.”

North Korea experts say it’s highly unlikely Ms Noem ever met the North Korean leader.

From 2011 to 2018, Mr Kim did not leave North Korea, according to University of Notre Dame professor and North Korea expert George Lopez.

Benjamin Young, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and an expert on North Korea, told The Dakota Scout that Ms Noem’s account of meeting Kim was “dubious.”

“I cover North Korea very closely, and I have never heard of Kim Jong Un meeting congressmen or congresswomen,” Mr Young said.

In a statement to The Independent, Ian Fury, chief of communications for Ms Noem’s office, said: “It was brought to our attention that the upcoming book No Going Back has two small errors. This has been communicated to the ghostwriter and editor. Kim Jong Un was included in a list of world leaders and shouldn’t have been.”

No Going Back also featured claims Ms Noem turned down an invitation to meet with French