Kristi Noem's Book 'Will Be Corrected' After She Told Fake Story About Meeting Kim Jong Un: 'It's Bull----'

"I'm sure [Kim] underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants," Noem writes in the original version of her forthcoming memoir, despite having never met him

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem's forthcoming book is getting tweaked amid backlash for telling a false story about an encounter with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, and making other dubious claims about French President Emmanuel Macron and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

Ahead of this month's release of the 52-year-old politician's memoir, No Going Back — which has already garnered headlines over an excerpt in which she wrote about shooting and killing her puppy — fact checkers who read the manuscript disputed the accuracy of a few details.

As Politico reported, Noem writes in the book about meeting with Kim Jong Un while on the House Armed Services Committee, a position she held from 2013-2015. "I'm sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants (I’d been a children’s pastor, after all)," she wrote, per the outlet.

The Dakota Scout interviewed a dozen Capitol Hill staffers, all who claimed they had no knowledge of Noem meeting with the dictator — including one who called her remarks "bulls---."

In a statement to PEOPLE on Friday, May 3, Noem's spokesperson acknowledged that a couple of "small errors" made it into the book, and that it has been "communicated to the ghostwriter and editor."

"Kim Jong Un was included in a list of world leaders and shouldn't have been," the spokesperson said, noting that the book has not yet been released and "all future editions will be corrected."

Related: South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem Shot and Killed Her Puppy, the Trump VP Candidate Reveals in New Book

As the Scout notes, Noem had visited China in 2014 but there is no record of Kim being in China at that time. University of Notre Dame professor George Lopez told the outlet that Kim did not leave North Korea between 2011 (when he assumed the role of supreme leader) and 2018.

“I don’t see any conceivable way that a single junior member of Congress without explicit escort from the U.S. State Department and military would be meeting with a leader from North Korea,” Lopez, an expert in North Korea, told the Scout. “What would have been so critical in his bag of tricks that he would have met with an American lawmaker, this one distinctively?”

Virginia Commonwealth University professor Benjamin Young, another North Korea expert, added that "there’s no way" Noem met the dictator, and that he has "never heard of Kim Jong Un meeting congressmen or congresswomen."

Related: Kristi Noem Doubles Down on Killing Her ‘Less than Worthless’ Hunting Puppy: ‘I Decided What I Did’

Noem also wrote in her forthcoming book that she canceled a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron last year, according to the Scout. The French president's office confirmed to the outlet that they never had a meeting scheduled.

She wrote that "the day before we were to meet he made what I considered a very pro-Hamas and anti-Israel comment to the press," which prompted her to "cancel" a meeting with Macron. His office told the Scout that while she didn't receive a “direct invitation” to meet with Macron, Noem could have been scheduled to attend the same event.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

One final, less consequential anecdote shared in Noem's book — about how she interpreted a call from Nikki Haley — caught the attention of Politico while the outlet reviewed an advance copy.

In No Going Back, Noem recalled that while she “was hauling a trailer full of horses" in the summer of 2021, she learned that Haley wanted to connect with her, per Politico.

Noem claimed that while they chatted, Haley — who had served as the first female governor of South Carolina — offered to "be a mentor" and said the following: "I’ve heard a lot of really good things about you. But I also want you to know that if I hear something bad … I will be sure to let you know."

Noem then said that Haley reiterated how she would "make sure that you know," per Politico, and that immediately after they got off the call, she told an assistant she was "pretty sure I was just threatened by Nikki Haley."

"It was clear that she wanted me to know that there was only room for one Republican woman in the spotlight. It was weird," Noem wrote, according to Politico. “Unsurprisingly, I never received any calls or ‘mentoring’ from her, but the message was clear. I’m the alpha female here, and you should know your place. I actually felt a little sad for her.”

A spokesperson for Haley told the outlet that the politicians spoke in 2020, not 2021, and that Haley "has long called and written notes supporting other women when they go through challenging times."

“She called Governor Noem in 2020 to encourage her when she was criticized for keeping her state open during Covid," Haley's spokesperson added. "How she would twist that into a threat is just plain weird.”

On Friday, Noem's spokesperson told PEOPLE that the governors did speak in 2020, but met in 2021, and that it would be clarified in final versions of the book.

As previously reported, Noem — once considered a top contender for Donald Trump's running mate position — defended her decision to kill a puppy after writing about it in an excerpt for the book, first shared by The Guardian.

Of her dog Cricket, whom she referred to as "untrainable" and “less than worthless as a hunting dog," Noem later wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that the "20 year old story" was part of a book that included "many honest stories of my life, good and bad days, challenges, painful decisions, and lessons learned."

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.