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North Korean State Media Calls Trump A ‘Far-Sighted’ And ‘Wise Politician’

Kim Jong Un attends a massive military parade marking the 65th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party in Pyongyang, North Korea, Oct. 10, 2010. CREDIT: AP PHOTO/VINCENT YU
Kim Jong Un attends a massive military parade marking the 65th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party in Pyongyang, North Korea, Oct. 10, 2010. CREDIT: AP PHOTO/VINCENT YU

In perhaps the most interesting praise of Donald Trump yet, North Korean state media has described the likely Republican presidential nominee as a “far-sighted” and “wise politician.”

According to NK News, on Tuesday, an editorial in the state outlet DPRK Today noted that “there are many positive aspects to the Trump’s ‘inflammatory policies,’” like his proposal to stay out of the conflict between North and South Korea.

“Trump said ‘he will not get involved in the war between the South and the North,’ isn’t this fortunate from North Koreans’ perspective?” wrote Han Yong Mook, a self-described Chinese North Korean scholar.

The piece referred to Trump’s comments in March to withdraw U.S. troops from South Korea if the country does not increase its spending to help alleviate the cost of housing those troops.

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“Who knew that the slogan ‘Yankee Go Home’ would come true like this?” Han wrote, according to NK News. “The day when the ‘Yankee Go Home’ slogan becomes real would be the day of Korean Unification.”

The piece also urged Americans not to vote for “dull” Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, criticizing her for “adapting the Iranian model to resolve nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula,” in contrast to Trump, “who spoke of holding direct conversation with North Korea.”

What Newspapers In 13 Countries Are Saying About Donald TrumpIn his first foreign policy speech on Wednesday, Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump declared that the…thinkprogress.orgThe editorial is not an actual endorsement from the North Korean government — one government official previously called Trump’s policy proposals for the region “absurd and illogical” — but the praise from press controlled by a totalitarian government is still noteworthy, especially given Trump’s previous praise for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Despite Trump’s proposal that South Korea develop nuclear weapons to deter North Korea on its own, he has also said the North Korean leader deserves credit for what he has accomplished.

“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,” Trump said at a rally in January, according to ABC News. “It’s incredible. He wiped out the uncle, he wiped out this one, that one. I mean this guy doesn’t play games. And we can’t play games with him.”

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ThinkProgress has previously documented media coverage of Donald Trump in other countries. While much of the media around the world has been critical of the candidate, North Korean state media has not been the only one to praise Trump. Much of Russian media has also praised Trump — likely due to Trump’s praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin. As Foreign Policy reported in March, Dmitry Kiselyov, the head of state-owned news network Rossiya Sedognya, has praised Trump as “anti-establishment” and said Trump “is not wanted and is even seen as harmful” by the other presidential candidates due to his praise for Putin. Kiselyov, who was appointed to the position by Putin himself, has also called Trump a “rising star” in U.S. politics.

Trump has also won a few admirers in Israel — including a possible endorsement from newspaper Israel Hayom, which defends Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and support from many right-wing Israelis.