Pence, at CPAC, rips media 'fawning' over Kim Jong Un's sister

Vice President Pence fired back Thursday at the “fawning” media coverage of Kim Jong Un’s sister following their appearance at the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Winter Games, reminding reporters that she represents the “most oppressive regime on the planet.”

The vice president used his address to the Conservative Political Action Conference to settle his score with the media, after Kim Yo Jong, at least initially, attracted some positive coverage for her supposed charm offensive in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Pence, meanwhile, at the time took some criticism for not standing during the opening-ceremonies appearance of North and South Korean athletes.

“For all the media fawning over the sister of the North Korean dictator, I think it’s important that every American knows who this person is and what she’s done,” Pence said Thursday. “The sister of Kim Jong Un is a central pillar of the most tyrannical and oppressive regime on the planet, an evil family clique that brutalizes, subjugates, starves and imprisons its 25 million people.”

Pence was just seats away from the North Korean delegates during those ceremonies earlier this month.

On Thursday, Pence took the opportunity to remind the public of the atrocities committed by the North Korean regime.

“Even the United Nations reported that in their words, the gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a state that does not have a parallel in the contemporary world,” Pence said. “That’s why the United States government has sanctioned her for her role in [abetting] North Korea's human rights abuses and crimes against humanity.”

Pence called on Americans to remember Otto Warmbier, the American college student who was detained in North Korea, and then died after being released in a coma.

“I say the United States of America doesn’t stand with murderous dictatorships, we stand up to murderous dictatorships, and we will keep standing strong until North Korea stops threatening our country, our allies or until they abandon their nuclear and ballistic missiles once and for all,” Pence said.

Before discussing his trip to South Korea, Pence briefly addressed the Parkland, Fla., shooting.

He said the safety of the nation’s schools and students is a top priority of the entire administration.