North Korea has been making efforts for months to give more visibility to its ties with Russia and China on the world stage and is now also sending a delegation to Iran. Kim Jong-un is trying to break diplomatic isolation and join a united front against the US.
A North Korean economic delegation has left for Iran, North Korean state media reported on Wednesday. The Pyongyang delegation led by Yun Jung Ho, North Korea’s Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, took a plane to Iran on Tuesday. However, state media provided no further details. These would be the first high-level talks between the two countries since the corona pandemic.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has embraced the idea of a “new Cold War” and urged strengthening cooperation between countries confronting the United States.
Pyongyang and Tehran are among a small group of governments backing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and both regimes are accused of supplying Russia with military equipment.
“Build overwhelming military power”
It is clear to observers that North Korea wants to break out of its diplomatic isolation. In 2023, Kim Jong Un visited Russia’s Far East to meet with Putin, highlighting the growing military cooperation between the countries. Earlier this month, the North Korean leader received top Chinese official Zhao Leji, who heads the ceremonial parliament and is third in the Communist Party hierarchy.
On Wednesday, Kim Yo-jong, the North Korean leader’s sister, strongly condemned the joint US-South Korean military exercises, insisting that the allies will never break North Korea’s resolve to “conquer our overwhelming military power.” to build.
The unmistakable statement comes barely a week after the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, called on the international community to be alert to the growing military cooperation between North Korea, Iran and Russia.
“We are concerned that the Iranians are supplying weapons to the Russians and that the Russians are also supporting efforts to help North Korea develop weapons. And that will certainly also be the case with Iran,” she warned.
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