Pyongyang is reportedly distancing itself from Iran’s war with the US and Israel in order to avoid angering the Trump administration.
By World Israel News Staff
North Korea has not provided weapons or other supplies to the Iranian regime since the outbreak of the war between the Islamic Republic and the US and Israel, according to South Korean intelligence.
On Monday, South Korean lawmakers were briefed by intel officials that the regime of Kim Jong Un appears to be deliberately limiting its support and public backing for Iran, as Pyongyang hopes to leave the door open to future talks with the United States.
Lawmakers said South Korea’s National Intelligence Service assessed that North Korea has not sent material support to Iran since the current conflict began on February 28.
The agency noted that Pyongyang did not publicly mourn the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike, and that North Korea did not issue a congratulatory statement when Mojtaba Khamenei was tapped to replace his father.
According to the briefing, North Korea’s failure to stand by Iran contrasts with China and Russia’s stance on the war.
South Korean officials said Pyongyang’s foreign ministry has released only two restrained statements on the conflict, a pattern they interpret as part of a broader effort to avoid angering President Donald Trump.
MP Park Sun-won said that North Korea is trying to lay the groundwork for future talks with Washington.
Seoul believes Pyongyang is positioning itself ahead of a possible geopolitical realignment that could follow an anticipated May meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
South Korean intel has also noted that the Middle East war is adding to North Korea’s internal economic strain.
The intelligence service told lawmakers that disruptions tied to the conflict are affecting the country’s access to industrial inputs, while prices and the exchange rate have also come under pressure. Seoul also said North Korea has been seeking oil supplies from Russia.
South Korean officials pointed as well to remarks made by Kim Jong Un at the Ninth Workers’ Party Congress in late February, where he suggested that better relations with the United States were possible if Washington accepted North Korea as a nuclear state.