North Korean leader Kim Jong-un drew a direct line between the distant conflict in the Middle East and his own country’s strategic choices, warning that the US has forced him into stockpiling civilisation-destroying weapons.
Kim used a speech to North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly on Tuesday to argue that recent events involving the United States and Iran validate Pyongyang’s longstanding position on nuclear weapons.
The hermit kingdom has long remained a thorn in Washington’s side. Constant unannounced missile tests, inflammatory anti-West rhetoric and abysmal human rights records have made the Kim dynasty notorious.
But Kim has an ace up his sleeve this time. He isn’t the one starting wars.
“The present situation clearly proves” that North Korea was justified in rejecting what he described as US pressure and “sweet talk” to give up its nuclear arsenal.
He accused Washington of “acts of state-sponsored terrorism and aggression,” and declared that North Korea’s nuclear status is now “irreversible.”
At the core of Kim’s argument is a view North Korea has held for decades. According to the ruling party, nuclear weapons are non-negotiable for the nation’s sovereignty.
For North Korea’s leadership, the Iran conflict reinforces a long-held belief that countries without nuclear weapons are exposed to US military power, while those with them can deter it.
In a way, Washington has only emboldened foreign dictators and this dangerous rhetoric.
Kim’s remarks come as Washington signals a possible reopening of talks with the isolated nation. Trump has recently signalled he is open to restarting talks with Kim, reviving a diplomatic track that fell apart in 2019, and there are early signs that discussions are already being explored.
Earlier this month, South Korea’s prime minister travelled to Washington for an unscheduled Oval Office meeting with Trump.
According to officials, the conversation focused on whether diplomacy with North Korea could resume, how to coordinate strategy, and how to respond to Pyongyang’s weapons development.
But Kim’s latest remarks suggest any future meeting would look very different from past summits that focused on denuclearisation.
He has indicated he is willing to engage with Trump again, but only if the US accepts North Korea as a nuclear power and abandons what Pyongyang calls its “hostile policy”.
Kim believes he has more meat on the bargaining table this time, whereas previous negotiations were built around the assumption that North Korea’s nuclear program was something to be dismantled.
North Korea has continued to demonstrate its capabilities amid the global unrest. The regime, which spends an estimated 30 per cent of GDP on military, recently showcased a series of high-profile weapons tests, including cruise missile launches from a new warship and barrages of what state media describes as nuclear-capable rockets.
Neighbours China and Russia have taken a more diplomatic approach in smashing the US and Israel-instigated war.
Despite the obvious global market chaos, the conflict has created an appetising scenario for anti-US voices across the planet to beat their chest.
Beijing’s messaging has focused on sovereignty and stability, reflecting both its broader foreign policy stance and its economic exposure to the region.
Iran’s response has been far more direct, framing the conflict as outright aggression and using it to reinforce its position against the US. Officials have cast the situation as further proof of what they describe as a pattern of intervention. They are now pushing for extravagant “reparations”, including the removal of all US bases across the Middle East, in early reported negotiations with the White House.
Officials in Venezuela and Syria have also condemned the US, echoing familiar language around imperialism and intervention, aligning themselves with Iran’s position as the small player being lorded over by the most powerful military on the planet.
