North Korean state media praises Donald Trump as 'wise politician,' dings 'dull Hillary'

Donald Trump seems to be favored in North Korea.

(Image credit: ANDREW CABALLERO/AFP/Getty Images)

published 31 May 2016

North Korea is pretty keen on the idea of a Donald Trump presidency. So much so that North Korean state media DPRK Today published an editorial recently singing the presumptive GOP nominee's praises. Trump, DPRK Today says, is a "wise politician" and a "far-sighted candidate." "There are many positive aspects to Trump's 'inflammatory policies,'" Han Yong-mook, a Chinese North Korean scholar, wrote in the editorial. "Trump said he will not get involved in the war between the South and the North, isn't this fortunate from North Korea's perspective?"

The editorial also welcomed Trump's request to hold direct talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. "The president that U.S. 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," the editorial said.

While this isn't necessarily Pyongyang talking, The Guardian reports that experts contend the editorial is still likely reflective of the regime's take on Trump. "[Trump]'s the Dennis Rodman of American politics — quirky, flamboyant, risk-taking," John Feffer, director of Foreign Policy in Focus, said. "At the moment he's also an outsider. But Pyongyang is hoping that either he'll be elected [and follow through on his pledges] or that his pronouncements will change the political game in the U.S. and influence how the Democratic Party and mainstream Republicans view Korean issues."