North Korean newscaster uses honorific 'supreme leader' to refer to Trump in coverage of the Singapore summit
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Two days after President Trump's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, North Koreans are at last seeing footage of the historic meeting on state TV, The Associated Press reports. The 42-minute news program is breathlessly narrated by the nation's famous news anchor Ri Chun Hee, who goes as far as to use the honorific "supreme leaders" to refer to both Kim and Trump.
The coverage is a surprising shift for North Korea, which uses propaganda to teach citizens to hate and fear Americans. Kim, though, is the hero of the North Korean news program, with the AP noting "he was shown allowing the older American — Trump, in his seventies, is more than twice Kim's age — to lean in toward him to shake hands, or give a thumbs up, then walking a few steps ahead to a working lunch." The BBC also observes that North Korea included footage of Trump saluting one of its generals, apparently out of confusion over a muddled handshake.
Watch the famous meeting of Kim and Trump, which comes about halfway through the North Korean news program, below. Jeva Lange
The Week
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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