NYTimes
Amid growing doubts about whether President Trump will really meet with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, the Trump administration came under criticism Tuesday over commemorative coins that were created to honor the planned meeting.
The coins, issued by the White House Communications Agency, a military unit assigned to the president, feature likenesses of the two leaders, referring to Mr. Kim as “Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un.”
Some faulted the United States for honoring a dictator who runs a repressive regime.
https://twitter.com/donmoyn/status/998655006151708673/photo/1
Robert E. Kelly, the South Korea analyst who became known as the BBC dad after his children’s intrusion into his home office went viral, mocked the administration for fostering a “personality cult,” calling the coins “just gross.”
And some noticed what appeared to be a double chin on Mr. Kim.
https://twitter.com/LeviGibian/status/998628949700816896/photo/1
The White House later issued a statement saying it “did not have any input into the design and manufacture of the coin.” It said such coins had been ordered since 2003 by members of the White House Communications Agency, whose military service personnel are assigned to handle presidential communications, including during trips abroad.
https://twitter.com/PeterAlexander/status/998699492282191872/photo/1
Mr. Trump plans to meet with Mr. Kim in Singapore on June 12. But he is said to be concerned about the risks of going ahead with the meeting, particularly after North Korea declared last week that it would never trade away its nuclear weapons capability in exchange for economic aid.