In an apparent effort to engage Arab and North African countries, North Korea on Thursday raised the issue of refugees’ human rights, asserting that the problem originated from U.S. foreign policy.

The accusation, leveled on the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA), argued that the Color Revolution – the democratic movements in Eastern Europe and Central Asia in the early ’00s  – and the more recent Arab Spring in the Middle East and North Africa were sponsored by the U.S. to expand its hegemony.

“In Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen, the U.S. encouraged rebellious powers to initiate anti-government riots, disguising them as