First Fake News of 2019

The American media is so vested in the failure of President Donald John Trump that it turned inside out Kim's New Year's message of peace.



First, this is how the Korea Herald reported the story: "The North Korean leader on Tuesday reiterated his determination to achieve complete denuclearization and also called for economic development in his annual New Year’s address, stressing the need to strengthen the North’s defense.

"In the address, Kim Jong-un highlighted last year’s developments in inter-Korean and US-North Korea relations, while calling on his country to seek economic development and modernize its defense industry.

"Kim delivered the address while sitting on a sofa in an office with portraits of his father, Kim Jong-il, and grandfather Kim Il-sung in the background. His previous New Year’s addresses had taken place in more formal settings, with Kim standing at a podium.

"While Kim’s address included conditions for further talks with the US, Seoul welcomed the speech as a sign of the North Korean leader’s willingness to improve inter-Korean relations and achieve denuclearization."

OK.

Kim gave his word he would denuclearize, and he is keeping it.

I get that peace is rather boring news.

And with President Trump intent on letting the two Koreas decide what is best for the Korean Peninsula, few Americans care.

I can see where the story would be buried on Page 12 with the shipping news. The choicest quote from Kim was, "I am ready to sit face to face with the US president again at any time going forward, and will make efforts to produce an outcome the international community would welcome."

So American journalists asked themselves, how can this be spun to make President Trump look bad?

CNN's headline was, "Kim Jong Un says North Korea isn't making nukes, warns US on sanctions."

To illustrate the report, CNN used a file photo of him in his gray dictator garb rather than the business attire he actually wore in his speech.

Its story began, "North Korean leader Kim Jong Un affirmed his apparent commitment to denuclearization during an annual New Year's address Tuesday, but warned that he may need to pursue 'a new way' if the United States continues to make 'one-sided demands' of Pyongyang."

NPR was slightly better. Its headline was "Kim Jong Un Wants New Summit With Trump, But Also Issues A Veiled Warning."

Its story began, "In a New Year's address on Tuesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he is eager to renew face-to-face negotiations with President Trump after a bilateral summit in June, but suggested that he could ramp up nuclear weapons development if the U.S. does not end economic sanctions against Pyongyang."

NBC News cobbled together an 84-second actuality that made it seem like the war is imminent. Its title was, "Kim Jong Un Says U.S. ‘Continues To Break Its Promises.’"

There is less propaganda in Pyongyang.

2018 was a year of peace, highlighted by President Trump's summit with Kim on June 12. At this point in his presidency, Obama had a beer summit with a college professor and the cop that arrested him.

Ending a war older than me is the real story to everyone but the American press.