An @NBCNews exclusive: “We have been treated with respect here.” @lesterholtnbc is just a few hours outside the capital of Pyongyang with a rare look inside North Korea pic.twitter.com/xTZM6QcLEy
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 22, 2018
Earlier this week, NBC’s Lester Holt, host of Nightly News, had been filing reports from inside the Hermit Kingdom – specifically from North Korea’s luxury ski resort Masik Pass. The coverage occurred in the wake of talks between North and South Korean officials in regards to sending a delegation of the North’s athletes to compete in the Winter Olympics this February. As part of the landmark talks, North Korean officials reportedly invited skiers from South Korea’s national team to come train at Masik Pass – a ski resort that’s been called a vanity project of leader Kim Jong-un.
Holt’s reporting, though, has been the source of serious criticism – some arguing his statements about, “being treated with respect here,” mischaracterize a regime known for its merciless authoritarianism. Some have gone so far as to argue that a scene in which Holt is doing a stand-up report about the resort as “patrons” shuffle onto the ski lift behind him is completely staged. The dead giveaway, they say, is the matching jackets.
WATCH: @LesterHoltNBC reports from inside North Korea.
He will file exclusive stories for @NBCNews and @MSNBC through Monday, and anchor @NBCNightlyNews live from Seoul, South Korea on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/2BQ3RVOqgj
— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) January 20, 2018
