The US president mistakenly claimed that North Korea supported Washington in imposing sanctions on Russia
© AP / Susan Walsh
US President Joe Biden added to his list of gaffes on Friday by apparently confusing the two Korean states.
Speaking at the Naval Academy’s graduation ceremony in Annapolis, Maryland, Biden discussed the importance of US cooperation with allies for the sake of global security. As an example of such cooperation, he mentioned the sanctions imposed by Western countries on Moscow over its military operation in Ukraine.
“Did anyone think that when I called for sanctions against Russia, in addition to NATO, that Australia, Japan, North Korea, some of the ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] countries would stand up and support those sanctions?” the US leader asked.
US President Biden during a speech to Naval Academy graduates said North Korea had joined US sanctions against Russia, apparently confusing the country with South Korea pic.twitter.com/LaUxPIpMKa
— Spriteer (@spriteer_774400) May 27, 2022
However, North Korea, itself heavily sanctioned by Washington, was actually one of five countries to vote in early March against a UN resolution condemning the Russian military offensive in Ukraine.
Pyongyang even accused the “hegemonic policy” of the US of fueling the conflict.
On Thursday, meanwhile, Russia and China used their vetoes to block a US-drafted UN Security Council resolution aimed at strengthening international sanctions on North Korea. The countries had not vetoed any of the previous North Korea sanctions packages implemented since 2006.
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