Video shows North Korean President Kim Jong Un blaming President Joe Biden for the Israel-Hamas war and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and saying, “I support Donald Trump for President in 2024.”
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People in Seoul, South Korea, watch a TV screen showing a news report about an Oct. 10, 2020, ceremony to mark the 75th founding anniversary of the North Korea's ruling Workers' party. A part of letters read "Military strength." (AP)
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un delivered this speech in October 2020. He didn’t name Trump, Biden
If Your Time is short
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On Oct. 10, 2020, at a military parade, North Korea leader Kim Jong Un delivered a speech warning that his nation would use nuclear power if provoked and thanking his people for overcoming hardships such as the coronavirus pandemic.
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A translated version of Kim’s speech did not include the words, "Biden," "Trump," "Israel," "Palestine," "Russia," "Ukraine," or "Taliban." Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel had not yet happened.
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Kim mentioned that international sanctions had created challenges for North Koreans, but he did not call out the U.S. specifically in his Oct. 10, 2020, speech, according to news reports.
As nations around the world responded to the outbreak of violence between Israel and Hamas, some social media users started circulating a video that they claimed showed North Korea leader Kim Jong Un blaming U.S. President Joe Biden for the war.
An Oct. 12 Instagram post features a video of Kim delivering a speech behind a lectern. Text at the start of the video claims it shows Kim’s speech about the Israel-Hamas war. He is speaking in Korean, but English captions were added.
"Under the Biden administration, conflicts erupt yearly," read the English captions as Kim speaks. "This year a war begins between Israel and Palestine. Last year a war begins between Russia and Ukraine. And two years ago, billions worth of military equipment was left to the Taliban. I’m afraid that if the Biden admin. Does not cease to exist in the next election, world war 3 may begin. Who knows what next year’s war will be. I support Donald Trump for President in 2024. Good Luck to Mr. Trump."
This post and others were flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.) We also found this video shared on TikTok.
(Screenshot from Instagram)
The English captions do not reflect what Kim said in his address.
A Google reverse image search revealed that Kim delivered this speech in October 2020, three years before Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7 and more than a year before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Featured Fact-check
In the speech, made on Oct. 10, 2020, at a military parade, Kim warned he would "fully mobilize" North Korea’s nuclear force if it was threatened, Politico reported. Kim also tearfully thanked his people for overcoming burdens, including the coronavirus pandemic, and apologized for not satisfactorily preventing North Koreans from experiencing hardships, according to The Korea Times, an English-language South Korean newspaper.
The BBC shared a clip that matched part of the video posted on Instagram, and reported that Kim said no one could appreciate North Korean troops’ "heroic devotion" without "shedding tears of gratitude."
The National Committee on North Korea — a U.S.-based organization that says it supports "principled engagement" between the U.S. and North Korea to promote peace on the Korean peninsula — published an English translation of Kim’s speech produced by the Korean Central News Agency, a North Korean state media outlet.
PolitiFact cross-referenced that translation with quotes included by English news organizations, which largely corroborated its accuracy.
The translated version of Kim’s speech did not include the words, "Biden," "Trump," "Israel," "Palestine," "Russia," "Ukraine," or "Taliban."
And although Kim mentioned that international sanctions had created challenges for North Koreans, he did not refer to the U.S. by name, Politico and CNN reported.
Our ruling
An Instagram video claimed to show a speech in which Kim blamed Biden for the Israel-Hamas war and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and said, "I support Donald Trump for President in 2024."
A reverse image search revealed that speech was from Oct. 10, 2020. A translation and news reports about the speech’s content show that the English captions superimposed on the video are inaccurate. He did not mention Biden, Trump, Israel, Hamas, Russia or Ukraine.
We rate this claim False.
Our Sources
Instagram post, Oct. 12, 2023
Instagram post, Oct. 14, 2023
TikTok post, Oct. 11, 2023
Politico, North Korea celebrates party anniversary amid economic woes, Oct. 10, 2020
YouTube, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gets emotional during speech - BBC News, Oct. 13, 2020
Google reverse image search results, Oct. 19, 2023
The Independent, ‘I’m really sorry’: Kim Jong-un sheds tears over his failings in rare apology to North Korean people, Oct. 12, 2020
The Korea Times, Kim Jong-un cries during commemorative speech, Oct. 11, 2020
LeadStories, Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Kim Jong-Un Talking About Hamas-Israel Violence In October 2023 -- It's From 2020, Oct. 17, 2023
The National Committee on North Korea, Mission statement, accessed Oct. 20, 2023
The National Committee on North Korea, Speech at the Military Parade Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea, Oct. 10, 2020
NPR, Kim Jong Un Puts New Missiles On Display At Military Parade In North Korea, Oct. 10, 2020
CNN, Tears don’t mean Kim Jong Un is softening. Just look at his military hardware, Oct. 18, 2020
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North Korea’s Kim Jong Un delivered this speech in October 2020. He didn’t name Trump, Biden
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