"Why Am I Just a Prop?!" The Mauritanian President Who Stormed Out of Kim Jong-un’s Foreign Policy Disaster, and the 4-Hour Runway Nightmare of 89-Year-Old Kim Yong-nam
"A stunning diplomatic insult! North Korea invited Mauritania's head of state, only to ignore him in favor of China and Cuba. The furious African President packed his bags early, leaving an 89-year-old loyal servant shivering on a freezing runway for four hours to clean up Kim Jong-un's mess." North Korea is widely known as one of the most secretive and tightly controlled regimes on Earth. But what actually happens behind the heavy velvet curtains of its massive state ceremonies? In September 2018, Pyongyang was swept up in a frenzy of celebration. It was the 70th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean regime (commonly known as the 9/9 Day). Kim Jong-un was desperate to parade global dignitaries through Pyongyang to project an image of strength and legitimacy. However, behind this grand, choreographed spectacle lay a mind-boggling diplomatic catastrophe —one that defies all common sense. A sitting foreign president, invited as a guest of honor, became so enra...
