North Koreans read newspapers in Pyongyang in May. Kim Kwang Hyon/AP
North Korea’s State Media Has Endorsed Donald Trump
A “wise politician” and “far-sighted presidential candidate.”
A newspaper published by the government of North Korea is heaping praise on US presidential candidate Donald Trump.
An editorial in DPRK Today commented favorably on the Republican nominee’s recent proposal to hold talks with Kim Jong-un, according to NK News.
The respect seems to be mutual: Trump praised Kim at a rally in January. “You gotta give him credit,” the Republican nominee said. “How many young guys—he was like 26 or 25 when his father died—take over these tough generals, and all of a sudden … he goes in, he takes over, and he’s the boss … it’s incredible.”
North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations, So Se Pyong, publicly dismissed Trump’s hypothetical olive branch. “This is useless, just a gesture for the presidential election,” he said.
Nevertheless, the editorial’s author, Han Yong Mook, heartily believes a Trump presidency will be an asset for North Korea. He described the nominee as a “wise politician” and “far-sighted presidential candidate.”
“Trump said ‘he will not get involved in the war between the South and the North,’ isn’t this fortunate from North Koreans’ perspective?,” he wrote. “The president that US citizens must vote for is not that dull Hillary—who claimed to adapt the Iranian model to resolve nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula—but Trump, who spoke of holding direct conversation with North Korea.”