Pompeo Criticized Over Incorrect Use of NKorean Leader's Surname

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo received criticism over incorrectly stating North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s surname, The New York Times reported.

In comments to reporters ahead of a trip to North Korea, Pompeo said the U.S. was starting "to put some outlines around the substance of the agenda for the summit between the president and Chairman Un," The Times reported.

Pompeo’s mistake was in confusing part of Kim’s first name with his family name, the report said.

John Delury, a Yonsei University expert on China and the Koreas, said that it was possible the error could have been made due to a State Department transcription mistake.

South Koreans and North Koreans usually follow different rules in the English translations of their names, Delury said. South Koreans typically hyphenate their first names — for example, South Korean president Moon Jae-in — while North Koreans do not, such as in the case of Kim Jong Un.

"Somebody really needs to have a word with Secretary of State Pompeo before he meets anybody in North Korea. He just referred to Kim Jong Un as "Chairman Un." That’s like, I dunno, calling Winston Churchill, 'Prime Minister Spencer,'" BBC writer Alistair Coleman tweeted, referring to Churchill’s full name, Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill.

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