North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the United States’ war with Iran proves his country made the right decision to acquire nuclear weapons.
In a speech to North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly released on Tuesday, Kim accused the United States of “state-sponsored acts of terrorism and aggression” but did not name Iran.
Kim said “the current situation clearly proves” that North Korea was justified in rejecting what he described as U.S. pressure and “sweet words” to give up its nuclear weapons. He added that North Korea’s nuclear status is now “irreversible.”
US President Donald Trump previously claimed that Iran posed an “imminent” threat to the United States, months after the US declared that the country had “destroyed” its nuclear capabilities. President Trump has cited stopping Iran from building a nuclear bomb as one of the reasons for launching an attack on Iran.
For North Korea’s leadership, the Iran conflict reinforces a long-held belief that countries without nuclear weapons are exposed to U.S. military power, but those with nuclear weapons can be deterred.
The timing of Kim’s speech is important. President Trump recently expressed an openness to restarting talks with Kim, restoring the diplomatic line that collapsed in 2019.
Kim’s recent comments suggest that the upcoming talks will be very different from past summits that focused on denuclearization. He has indicated that he is willing to talk to President Trump again, but only if the United States recognizes North Korea as a nuclear power and abandons what North Korea calls its “hostile policy.”
North Korea is widely believed to have assembled dozens of nuclear warheads and, unlike Iran and Venezuela, claims to have operational nuclear weapons and delivery systems capable of reaching anywhere in the continental United States, although they have not been fully tested.
North Korea has recently unveiled a series of high-profile weapons tests, including firing cruise missiles from a new warship and firing off what state media described as nuclear-capable rockets. Kim pledged to expand his country’s nuclear arsenal at last month’s Labor Party convention, saying it was his party’s “firm intention” to increase both the number of weapons and the means of deploying them.
Mr. Kim also placed his teenage daughter, believed to be named Kim Ju-ae, at the center of these exhibits, suggesting that North Korea’s nuclear program is not only permanent but intergenerational.
At the same time, North Korea is strengthening its ties with Moscow. Russian state television showed footage of North Korean troops training near the Ukrainian front, portraying the two countries as a strong anti-American partnership and emphasizing expanded military cooperation.
This relationship has become more significant, with North Korea’s role in Russia’s war in Ukraine becoming the focus of North Korea’s propaganda. Kim agreed to supply artillery shells and rockets and sent thousands of troops to support Russia’s war effort.
In return, analysts say, North Korea received food, fuel and potentially sensitive military technology, as well as battlefield data that could help North Korea improve its weapons.
This coordination adds further complexity for Washington. This suggests that North Korea is not operating in isolation, but as part of a broader network of countries countering U.S. influence.
Despite his hard-line tone, Mr. Kim has not completely closed the door to diplomacy, leaving a small leeway for negotiations with the U.S. government at the recent Labor Party convention.
But his conditions are clear. Negotiations with the United States may be possible, but giving up nuclear weapons is impossible.
