Kim Jong Un says Iran war justifies North Korea’s decision to keep its nuclear weapons

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has said that the US’ war with Iran proves his country made the right decision to keep its nuclear weapons.

In a speech to North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly on Tuesday, Kim accused Washington of “acts of state sponsored terrorism and aggression.”

“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, Kim said.

He added that North Korea’s nuclear status is now “irreversible.”

Trump has previously claimed Iran posed an “imminent” threat to the US, months after declaring the US had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

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.

The timing is significant. Trump has recently signaled he is open to restarting talks with Kim, reviving a diplomatic track that collapsed in 2019.

Earlier this month, South Korea’s prime minister traveled 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.

Kim’s latest remarks suggest any future meeting would look very different from past summits that focused on denuclearization. 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.”

North Korea has 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.

Source: CNN

- Agencies