Syria, North Korea take swipes at West as UN assembly ends

By JENNIFER PELTZ
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Some of the West’s fiercest critics have made their case in the closing hours of the U.N. General Assembly meeting of world leaders. In speeches Monday, Syria and North Korea accused the United States and its allies of seeking to impose their will on the world. Syria Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad called for a U.S.-led military coalition to get out of his country. North Korean Ambassador Kim Song said his country wouldn’t yield to U.N. demands to give up its nuclear weapons program. Both condemned sanctions against their countries. In his own speech last week, U.S. President Joe Biden made no direct mention of Syria but briefly complained that North Korea is violating U.N. sanctions over its nuclear activities.