US conservative favourite Sarah Palin is choosing sides in the latest conflict pitting the two Koreas against one another, but a verbal slip-up saw her make an unexpected pick.

Sarah Palin is the target of embarrassing newspaper headlines around the world after a painful slip of the tongue in a radio interview.

White House environmental adviser Van Jones, embroiled in a controversy over past inflammatory statements, resigned after what he called a “vicious smear campaign against me”.