White House: Trump salute to NK general 'a common courtesy'

The White House on Thursday defended President Donald Trump's decision to return a military salute to a North Korean three-star general.

In this image made from June 12, 2018, video released by KRT, U.S. President Donald Trump salutes No Kwang Chol, minister of the People's Armed Forces of North Korea, as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, introduces Trump to the general during the summit in Singapore. (KRT via AP Video)

"It's a common courtesy when a military official from another government salutes, that you return that," presidential spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters two days after Trump returned from his summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un.

North Korean state media released video from the visit of Trump reaching out to shake the hand of the minister of the People's Armed Forces, who instead saluted during the summit in Singapore. The two then reversed gestures, with Trump saluting and the general reaching out to shake hands. The two eventually shook hands.

The awkward moment raised some eyebrows because the U.S. and North Korea technically are still at war.

In this image made from June 12, 2018, video released by KRT, U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with No Kwang Chol, minister of People's Armed Forces of North Korea, as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, introduces Trump to the general during the summit in Singapore. (KRT via AP Video)

"I have never seen an American president salute an officer of another military, let alone a military that acts as a brutal enforcer of human slavery and awful prison camps in a gulag across its nation," said James Stavridis, a retired Navy admiral who served as the top NATO commander. "It was a mistake."

The protocol on how American presidents should meet foreign leaders is murky. During the 2012 presidential campaign, Trump went after President Barack Obama for bowing to the Saudi king, tweeting: "@BarackObama bowed to the Saudi King in public -- yet the Dems are questioning @MittRomney's diplomatic skills."

Obama also took some grief in 2014 for saluting with a coffee cup in his hand as he stepped off Marine One in New York. The "latte salute," had its own hashtag on Twitter.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s motorcade took a different route than usual to the airport as he was departing Florida on Sunday due to a “suspicious object,” according to the White House.

The object, which the White House did not describe, was discovered during security sweeps in advance of Trump’s arrival at Palm Beach International Airport.

“A further investigation was warranted and the presidential motorcade route was adjusted accordingly,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Sunday.

The president, when asked about the package by reporters, said, “I know nothing about it.”

Trump left his Palm Beach, Florida, club, Mar-a-Lago, around 6:20 p.m. for the roughly 10-minute drive to the airport, but took a circular route around the city to get there.

During the drive, police officers on motorcycles created a moving blockade for the motorcade, at one point almost colliding with the vans that accompanied Trump.

Air Force One was parked on the opposite side of the airport from where it is usually located and the lights outside the plane were turned off.

Anthony Guglielmi, the spokesman for U.S. Secret Service, said the secondary route was taken just as a precaution and that “that is standard protocol.”

President Donald Trump departs Trump International Golf Club in the presidential limousine, known as The Beast, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)