US aid to Egypt cut due to North Korea links?

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un attends a meeting with US President Donald Trump on the south side of the Military Demarcation Line that divides North and South Korea, in the Joint Security Area (JSA) of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized zone (DMZ) on June 30, 2019. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

The US State Department has hinted that the decision to cut and freeze aid to Egypt may be because of Cairo’s cooperation with the government of North Korea.

This was revealed in statements by State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert during Thursday’s press briefing in Washington. When asked whether the aid issue was related to Egypt’s agreements with North Korea, Nauert replied, “We have conversations with Egypt and many other countries around the world about the need to isolate the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea].”

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She pointed out that the US recognises that countries around the world which do business with North Korea enable money to go into its illegal [sic] nuclear and ballistic weapons programmes. “That is a huge concern of ours and it’s a huge concern to the international community as well,” she added.

Nauert also pointed out that the US has “a deep and multifaceted relationship” with Egypt. “We have a lot of areas of close cooperation,” she explained, “but DPRK overall as a broad matter is a big concern to the United States.”

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