'Staring down little tyrants': Kristi Noem's book includes false anecdote about Kim Jong Un
South Dakota GOP Gov. Kristi Noem's memoir includes a false anecdote about a meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un while she served as the state's representative in Congress, according to reports.
The excerpt from Noem's book "No Going Back," first flagged by South Dakota politics outlet The Dakota Scout, details meetings with multiple world leaders through her tenure on the House Armed Services Committee.
"I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un," she wrote in the book set to be released Tuesday. "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)."
But Noem's spokesperson seemed to confirm to Politico and other news outlets that the story is not accurate and that the book will be corrected to remove it.
"It was brought to our attention that the upcoming book ‘No Going Back’ has two small errors,” Noem's spokesperson Ian Fury told the New York Times. “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."
The two-term South Dakota governor is considered to be on the shortlist of potential running mates for former President Donald Trump.
Related: How North Korea's Kim Jong Un is revving up nuclear and military intimidation tactics
The other error Fury referenced is the timeline of a conversation with former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who she says called her in 2021 to offer to mentor her. Noem wrote that the conversation ended with Haley saying: "I’ve heard many good things about you. But when I do hear bad things, I will make sure that you know."
Noem wrote that she perceived the call as a threat. A spokesperson for Haley told the Times and Politico that Noem's characterization of the conversation is inaccurate, and that Haley "has long called and written notes supporting other women when they go through challenging times."
The book will be corrected in the future to say the conversation happened in 2020, not 2021, Fury told the Times.
Noem's memoir has gained attention in recent days for an account of shooting a 14-month-old wirehair pointer on her family farm.
Noem described the dog as "untrainable" and ruined a hunt and attacked chickens. It acted like a "trained assassin" that was "dangerous to anyone she came in contact with," she wrote.
The anecdote drew backlash from both sides of the aisle and quickly became fodder for Noem's political opponents. The Democratic National Committee called the excerpts from the book "horrifying" and "disturbing."
Noem has defended the story as a reality of farm life, and as an indicator that she can face "difficult, messy and ugly" tasks.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kristi Noem's book falsely claims she met North Korea's Kim Jong Un
