{"id":6959,"date":"2026-04-27T01:48:58","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T01:48:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=6959"},"modified":"2026-04-27T01:48:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T01:48:58","slug":"north-korea-strengthens-nuclear-push-as-us-flails-in-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=6959","title":{"rendered":"North Korea strengthens nuclear push as US flails in Middle East"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 300px 160px; gap: 2px; width: 460px; background: #eee; padding: 2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u6574\u884c\u5bbd\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876674\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": 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\/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><em><small>Since US-Israeli strikes on Iran began in late February, North Korea has conducted five missile launches &#8211; Copyright AFP Khaled DESOUKI<\/small><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Matthew WALSH<\/em><\/p>\n<p>North Korea is taking advantage of the Middle East war to speed up its weapons development and cement its nuclear status in a world where international norms have broken down, analysts say.<\/p>\n<p>Since US-Israeli strikes on Iran began in late February, North Korea has conducted five missile launches, including four so far in April \u2014 the most in a single month since January 2024, according to an AFP tally.<\/p>\n<p>They follow a pledge by leader Kim Jong Un to bolster nuclear forces, as Pyongyang reaps the benefits of deeper ties with Russia and sharpens its invective against US ally South Korea.<\/p>\n<p>The launches \u201cappear to be part of a sophisticated strategy\u201d to balance military upgrades against shifting dynamics between the United States, Russia and China, said Lim Eul-chul, a North Korea expert at the South\u2019s Kyungnam University.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe current global security landscape has transformed into a \u2018lawless zone\u2019 where existing international norms no longer function,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNorth Korea is exploiting this vacuum\u2026 to complete its nuclear arsenal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pyongyang has condemned US attacks on Iran as \u201cgangster-like\u201d, but is not thought to have supplied arms to Tehran and has notably refrained from directly criticising President Donald Trump, who is expected to visit China for a summit next month.<\/p>\n<p>There has been speculation that Trump may meet Kim around that time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith the summit likely to draw attention to the North Korea agenda, Pyongyang may have seized the moment to reinforce its message that it is an irreversible nuclear state,\u201d Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told AFP.<\/p>\n<p>However, it also wants to send \u201ca continuous signal that it possesses a fundamentally different deterrent posture from Iran\u2019s\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Nuclear options \u2013<\/p>\n<p>The flurry of missile launches began soon after the Workers\u2019 Party congress in February, a once-in-five-years event that directs state efforts.<\/p>\n<p>The timing suggests that North Korea wants to \u201cfront-load visible achievements\u201d in its weapons capabilities, Hong said.<\/p>\n<p>At that congress, Kim said North Korea\u2019s \u201cposition as a nuclear weapons state has been consolidated to be irreversible and permanent\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The launches have involved sanctioned ballistic missiles, anti-warship cruise missiles and cluster munitions.<\/p>\n<p>Analysts told AFP the manoeuvres displayed certain technical advancements and growing proficiency with dual-use weapons, designed for both nuclear and conventional roles.<\/p>\n<p>They included evidence of North Korea\u2019s ability to mount miniaturised nuclear warheads and conduct \u201csaturation attacks\u201d that overwhelm enemy interception networks with sheer quantity, Lim said.<\/p>\n<p>Pyongyang is likely to pursue \u201ccontinuous\u201d ballistic missile testing as it pivots from simple weapons development towards the \u201cnormalisation of nuclear operations\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe regime judges that while the US is tied down in the Middle East, it is the optimal time to accelerate offensive deterrence and the parallel development of nuclear and conventional forces.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 More bangs, more bucks \u2013<\/p>\n<p>The launches also show North Korea\u2019s willingness to flaunt its backing from Russia, which has given Pyongyang valuable economic and technical assistance in return for thousands of North Korean troops sent to help its invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is an attempt to demonstrate that they have a powerful ally in Russia despite pressure from the US and China, effectively rendering sanctions obsolete,\u201d Lim said.<\/p>\n<p>In recent high-level exchanges, Pyongyang and Moscow have celebrated the connection of their first road bridge, the start of construction of a \u201cfriendship hospital\u201d, and the inauguration of a North Korean military memorial complex.<\/p>\n<p>Russia\u2019s defence, interior, natural resources and health ministers, as well as its parliamentary speaker, the head of its trade union federation and the chief of the TASS news agency, have all visited the diplomatically isolated nation.<\/p>\n<p>Pyongyang\u2019s ambassador to Moscow reportedly even discussed agricultural cooperation with the Russian-installed leader of Kherson, in occupied Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNorth Korea is one of the few countries that would not be afraid to operate in occupied Ukraine, and both sides are making use of this,\u201d said Fyodor Tertitskiy, a Russian-born scholar at Seoul\u2019s Korea University who studies the North.<\/p>\n<p>Cultural bonds have deepened too, with Russia hosting an exhibition of North Korean art glorifying the Ukraine war, and a North Korean restaurant operating in Moscow.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is no \u2018boom\u2019 or sharp increase, but there are always clients interested in this country,\u201d said Olga, the administrator of a Moscow travel agency that offers tours to North Korea for around $1,500.<\/p>\n<p>But Tertitskiy said he doubted that the friendship would live long beyond the Ukraine war, saying it was \u201cdriven almost exclusively by the ongoing invasion\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPutin needs ammunition; everything else is secondary.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- \u603b\u5bb9\u5668\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u5bbd908px Grid\u7d27\u51d1\u5e03\u5c40 -->\r\n<div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 728px 160px; gap:2px; width:908px; background:#eee; padding:2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u901a\u680f\u9876\u90e8\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u6a2a\u5e45 908x258 \u8de8\u6574\u884c 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