South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem claimed Sunday that she previously set foot in North Korea and cited a trip to the demilitarized zone as proof.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem continued to claim Sunday that she visited North Korea — and cited a trip to South Korean’s demilitarized zone (DMZ) as proof.
Noem, 52, has been in hot water for a passage in her forthcoming book in which she recounted staring down North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un — a tale she has since said she’ll correct.
Margaret Brennan, the moderator of CBS “Face the Nation,” challenged her Sunday on a claim she also visited the famously isolated Hermit Kingdom, saying “You never went there.”
Noem responded: “Yes, I have. I’ve been there.”
She added: “I went to the DMZ. 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 roughly 160-mile-long buffer zone that separates North and South Korea, fortified heavily with military hardware and troops on both sides.
Tourists can gaze into North Korea from the DMZ in South Korea.
But very few American politicians have actually visited the pariah state of North Korea, which is notorious for human rights abuses.
