NBC “Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt on Thursday defended his coverage ahead of the Winter Olympics in North Korea, which critics said offered a gauzy portrait of the repressive regime, and said it was the result of difficult balancing act as a result of the country’s tightly controlled environment.
In an interview with the Associated Press published Thursday, Holt said he had no regrets.
“I absolutely think the trip was worth it,” he said. “We talk about this place, we hear the bellicose language from its leader and we hear the reaction from our country. It’s important to get on the ground. You go to a place like North Korea with your eyes wide open.”
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
“I don’t want to say we censor ourselves, but you have to be mindful of the fact that you’re continuing the trip there,” he added. “You’re considerably more free when you’re out of there in how you frame certain things.”
Holt’s news segments aired from a ski resort in North Korea, a location that he said was required by government officials.
The coverage went from Saturday to Tuesday. On Monday’s edition of NBC’s “Today,” Holt described the “very modern ski resort” and said that his production crew had been “treated with respect.”
Much of the rest of the country, however, is impoverished and North Korea has long relied on economic aide from China.
