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On June 16, 2022, a Telegram channel affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq released a 22-second video featuring an Iraqi song praising North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his family, saying they contribute to the welfare of their people and country.[1]
The clip opened with footage of Kim among his generals, and footage demonstrating North Korea's ballistic missile capabilities, both set to a song in Iraqi Arabic titled: "Those Who Seek to Harm You Will Not Live."
The song was originally produced in 2018, written in praise of Akram Al-Ka'abi, head of the Iran-backed Harakat Hezbollah Al-Nujaba' (The Movement of the Noble of Hezbollah).[2] The song's lyrics are: "No one can harm you; your soldiers are your sail. Your arm will not be twisted. You are the son of your own land, and we know that you do not give up."
The Telegram post with the clip included text claiming that "[Kim Jong-un] makes sacrifices for his people, donating his supply of medication, along with that of his family, to his fellow citizens, in order to fight an unknown disease which causes gastric pain and is widely spreading throughout the country." The post further noted that Kim and his wife were photographed in white lab coats, supervising the medication to be donated. The channel did not share the photo.
The clip comes in line with the channel's support of the Russian official narrative about the war in Ukraine. For example, on June 12, an affiliated channel published a post highlighting that Kim expressed his full support of Russian President Vladimir Putin.[3]
[1] Telegram, June 16, 2022.
[2] Youtube.com, last accessed June 17, 2022.
[3] Telegram, June 12, 2022.
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