North Korean Official Cracks Fake News Joke Aimed at CNN, NBC
North Korea and the United States have their share of deep differences, but one incident over the weekend showed the two nations have one thing in common: a dislike of fake news.
During Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to North Korea, a North Korean official decided to play a little game with the media, The Daily Caller reported.
“No CNN or NBC reporters?” the man asked after asking which media outlets were on a bus going from the airport to a place where the media would be staying.
“In this van, no fake news,” he added.
During the drive, the official gave a Trump-like response when asked what would take shape at Pompeo’s meetings.
“We’ll have to see, like your president says,” the official said.
Although Pompeo said there was “a great deal of progress,” but that “there’s more work to be done,” comments from North Korea after his meetings were negative.
“I have confidence that Kim Jong Un will honor the contract we signed &, even more importantly, our handshake. We agreed to the denuclearization of North Korea. China, on the other hand, may be exerting negative pressure on a deal because of our posture on Chinese Trade-Hope Not!” Trump tweeted Monday.
I have confidence that Kim Jong Un will honor the contract we signed &, even more importantly, our handshake. We agreed to the denuclearization of North Korea. China, on the other hand, may be exerting negative pressure on a deal because of our posture on Chinese Trade-Hope Not!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2018
Trump on Tuesday acted comfortable about the relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, noting that he planned to give Kim a copy of the song “Rocket Man,” one of the nicknames Trump used for Kim, CNN reported.
Although Pompeo carried the gift on his trip, he brought it back after he did not meet with Kim. Trump and Kim discussed the Elton John song during their summit, and Kim said he did not know of it. Trump said the gift will be delivered eventually.
“They didn’t give it, I have it for him, they didn’t give it, but it will be given at a certain time,” Trump said Tuesday.
“I actually do have a little gift for him, but you’ll find out what that gift is when I give it,” he said.
Pompeo on Monday had downplayed friction caused by his weekend trip and push for action on the part of North Korea.
“Look, this is a decades-long challenge, getting the North Koreans to make a fundamental strategic decision, which is that the nuclear weapons that they possess today frankly present a threat to them and not security,” Pompeo said, according to CNN.
Others have said that the fact that there was friction at all shows problems may run deeper than the administration wants to acknowledge.
“Pompeo certainly showed that there’s a bigger gap between Washington and Pyongyang than the administration had been depicting,” said Bruce Klingner of the Heritage Foundation, who was formerly with the CIA, according to The Hill.
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