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Kim Jong Un Uses Iran War to Justify North Korea’s Nuclear Buildup

North Korea backed Iran’s new supreme leader and used the war as a pretext to justify a stronger nuclear buildup.

Kyiv Post

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11. März 2026

3 min read

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North Korea said on Wednesday that it respects Iran’s decision to choose Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new supreme leader, according to state media. The statement came after Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen following the death of his father, Ali Khamenei, in the initial US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

An unnamed North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Pyongyang respects “the rights and choice of the Iranian people to elect their supreme leader.” The official also accused the United States and Israel of undermining regional peace and security, violating Iran’s political system and territorial integrity, and trying to overthrow its social system.

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The statement put North Korea firmly in the camp backing Tehran as the war in the Middle East reshapes alignments across Eurasia.

For Pyongyang, the Iran war is also a propaganda lesson. North Korea is using the war in Iran to justify strengthening its nuclear arsenal, arguing that stronger offensive capabilities are the best defense against outside pressure.

That fits a broader North Korean message: states without a credible deterrent remain vulnerable, while those that strengthen their defenses can raise the cost of confrontation.

Coming to Iran’s help?

Whether North Korea will directly help Iran militarily remains to be seen. What is already clear, however, is that Pyongyang has been backing another close partner, Russia, in its war against Ukraine by providing troops, ammunition and missiles.

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North Korea reportedly sent roughly 14,000-15,000 troops to Russia and shipped more than 20,000 containers of munitions, including millions of artillery and rocket rounds. That support was intended to help Russia counter Ukrainian battlefield pressure.

At first, North Korea appeared to hide the fate of its soldiers killed in Russia. South Korean lawmakers said many of the bodies were cremated in Russia’s Kursk region before being sent back home. Later, Pyongyang shifted to honoring them publicly, with Kim Jong Un visiting a memorial site for troops killed overseas and praising them as “heroes.”

Unlike its relationship with Russia, Pyongyang does not publicly have a comparable mutual-defense pact with Tehran.

North Korea and Russia signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership treaty in June 2024 – more than two years after the start of the full-scale invasion – that includes a mutual assistance clause in the event of aggression against either side.

Still leaving the door open to Trump

Even while attacking US policy, Pyongyang has been more careful in how it talks about Donald Trump personally. Kim Jong Un has signaled that relations with Washington could improve if the United States drops what North Korea calls “its hostile policy.”

That suggests North Korea is trying to do two things at once: condemn US military action against Iran and joint drills with South Korea, while avoiding language that would completely shut the door on future diplomacy with Trump.