Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Donald Trump sends ‘congratulations’ to Kim Jong Un on Truth Social after North Korea was granted position on WHO.
“Congratulations to Kim Jung Un!” wrote Trump in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform.
Countries that commit human rights abuses being given leadership roles in international organizations remains a live issue. Russia, which has committed war crimes in Ukraine, took charge of the U.N. Security Council in April. Earlier this month, it was announced Iran, which represses its citizens, will chair the U.N. Human Rights Council 2023 Social Forum. And now Dr. Jong Min Pak of the North Korean Ministry of Public Health will sit on the WHO’s executive board until 2026.
The letters are one of many that Trump shares in “Letters to Trump” — a collection of exchanges that he had in his business and political lives.
But the Kim exchange may be among the most fascinating, in large part because their relations were one of the more bizarre — and high stakes — aspects of his time in the White House. The letters reveal the flattery the North Korean leader employed.
“Your excellency Mr. President,” Kim began in a letter dated July 30, 2018 and shared with POLITICO ahead of the book’s publication. “I express my deep appreciation to Your Excellency for having a firm faith in the excellent relations established between us during the first summit and exerting yourself to honor the promise made in that historic day.
During his presidency, Trump met with the North Korean leader three times in an attempt to improve relations and denuclearize the belligerent country that frequently threatens South Korea and other U.S. allies. While there was a thaw that reduced tensions on either side of the demilitarized zone and saw the remains of U.S. soldiers who died during the Korean War returned, no significant progress was made toward denuclearization. Tensions have risen since.
“What this means is that one of the world’s most horrific regimes is now a part of a group that sets and enforces the standards and norms for the global governance of health care. It is an absurd episode for a key U.N. agency that is in much need of self-reflection and reform,” Neuer explained.
Presidential candidate Nikki Haley, who was Trump’s U.N. ambassador, also derided the move. But as indicated in a post to Truth Social this Friday, former President Donald Trump sees no problem with the addition of North Korea and sent his regards to North Korea’s dictator, while sharing a link to news of the event.
In a separate letter from Trump, dated January 8, 2019, Trump wrote, “Dear Chairman Kim, I heard it was your birthday and I wanted to wish you a happy day. You will have many great years of celebration and success. Your country will soon be on a historic and prosperous path.”
Other countries joining the executive board are Australia, Barbados, Cameroon, Comoros, Lesotho, Qatar, Switzerland, Togo and Ukraine.
“As one of the world’s worst violators of human rights at war with its own population, North Korea is clearly an enemy of public health at home and abroad,” Jamie Metzl, the founder and chair of OneShared.World and a former member of the WHO expert advisory committee on human genome editing, told Newsweek. “But because public health is global and we are all connected in our interdependent world, the WHO is probably right to err on the side on inclusion.”
“BREAKING: North Korea, a regime that starves its own people, was just elected to the @WHO Executive Board. No joke,” international human rights lawyer Hillel Neuer tweeted on Wednesday.
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