Former President Donald Trump celebrated North Korea’s admission to the World Health Organization.
Trump made the remarks on his proprietary social media platform, Truth Social, on Friday afternoon.
“Congratulations to Kim Jung [sic] Un!” Trump wrote in the message.
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Trump linked his message to an American Greatness article about the North Korean official who was recently elected to the Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO).
NORTH KOREA ELECTED TO THE BOARD OF THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
Trump and Kim shake hands when they meet in 2019. (AP/KCNA) (AP/KCNA)
dr Jong Min Pak of the North Korean Ministry of Health has been appointed to the Executive Board of the WHO with a term until 2026.
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SOUTH KOREA DEPLOYS VESSELS, DIVERS CONTINUE RESCUING FAILED NORTH KOREAN MISSILE
The logo of the World Health Organization (WHO) is seen near its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, February 2, 2023. (Portal/Denis Balibouse/File Photo)
The communist state’s new position on the board gives it a say in setting the organization’s agenda and policies.
The decision immediately drew criticism from the government of neighboring South Korea, which pointed out that North Korea has historically ignored the policies of the WHO and its parent organization, the United Nations.
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EUROPEAN UNION AND SOUTH KOREA LEADERS AGREE TO INCREASE PRESSURE ON RUSSIA, CONDEMNING MISSILE TESTS IN NORTH KOREA
Trump became the first sitting US President to meet with a North Korean dictator in 2019 when he shook hands with Kim Jong Un.
“It started out hard, remember? I said ‘little rocket man,’ and he said, ‘I have a red button on my desk and I’m ready to use it,'” Trump recalled in an April 2023 interview.
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“And then all of a sudden we get a call — they want to meet up,” he added. “We would have clarified the whole situation shortly after the start of my second term.”
President Donald Trump (left) meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, file)
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The World Health Organization acts as a specialized agency of the United Nations and is part of the UN Group for Sustainable Development.
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Established in 1948 in connection with the founding of the United Nations, the organization has a broad mandate as the international governing body for monitoring public health risks and overseeing emergency response.
The WHO is headquartered in Geneva, has 194 member states and has an annual budget of around 2.1 billion US dollars.