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CNN aired what was clearly North Korean propaganda on its network on Wednesday, interviewing North Koreans who only had effusive praise for Kim Jong-Un and his actions. CNN’s Will Ripley reported directly from Pyongyang, and merely insinuated that the interviews were not to be believed toward the end of his report.
On a square in North Korea’s capital city, Ripley interviewed several North Korean citizens about the regime’s missile launch over Japan.
Without surprise, all of the North Koreans praised Kim’s leadership and slammed the United States for its aggression.
In between interviews, CNN ran b-roll of young North Korean girls in military uniforms singing patriotic songs. The dozens of other people in the public square clapped when they heard the answers to CNN’s questions.
“I have been to North Korea 14 times, and I have never heard anyone openly criticize their authoritarian government. You can probably imagine why,” Ripley said to end his report.
Given how North Korea has handled foreign visitors in the past, it is almost certain that the government engineered every appearance by those interviewed, and CNN played right into their hands by airing the video in the United States.