Ruling party lawmaker from northern elite "Is it Biden's 'gaffe' when he says "South Korea's main enemy is North Korea?" = Korea

Tae Yong-ho, a diplomat who defected to South Korea from North Korea, said that President Yoon Seo-gyeol said, "The enemy of the UAE (United Arab Emirates) is Iran." The opposition party, the Democratic Party of South Korea, criticized it as a diplomatic disaster, saying, "Think about who is destroying the relationship between South Korea and Iran."

Rep. Tae said on Facebook on January 17th, "If US President Joe Biden tells the US military in South Korea, 'The main enemy of the Republic of Korea is North Korea, and I want you to fulfill your mission for the people of South Korea', are you saying it was a presidential gaffe?"

Rep. Tae said, "President Yoon's remarks in the UAE to encourage the Ark Forces (South Korean special forces dispatched to the UAE) were once again labeled as a 'diplomatic disaster' by the Democratic Party. The president's remarks are an encouragement to the soldiers, 'Do your best in carrying out your duties in the UAE.'"

He continued, "The UAE Ark Unit, a military training unit, is to support the education of the UAE Special Warfare Unit, which was dispatched for military cooperation for the first time since the establishment of the Japanese military," and added, "It is not a peacekeeping operation. Therefore, it is only natural that our dispatched soldiers should support the UAE with a sense of mission."

He added, "If you ask the people of the UAE, 'Who is your country's main enemy?', most of them will answer, 'Iran.'"

Rep. Tae said, "In diplomacy, the national interest should be the top priority, and the ruling and opposition parties should not be there. Don't create seeds of discord."

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung responded to President Yoon's remarks on the morning of January 18th, saying, "It's a very misguided gaffe that embarrasses the UAE, which is called a 'brother country,' and provokes Iran. A diplomatic disaster has occurred."