North Korea sees nuclear arms as path to regime security amid Iran war

North Korea’s launch last week of a missile from a naval destroyer was presented by Kim Jong-un as proof that arming ships with nuclear weapons was "making satisfactory progress". The test was meant to reverberate beyond the deck of the 5,000-tonne destroyer-class vessel the Choe Hyon, the biggest warship in the North Korean fleet.

Kim made his pointed reference to nuclear weapons as the US and Israel continued their air bombardment of Iran and after Donald Trump warned, without offering evidence, that Iran was only weeks away from having a nuclear weapon. The widening war in the Middle East has likely reinforced North Korea’s decision to build a nuclear arsenal.

For Kim and the dynasty that has ruled North Korea since 1948, the nuclear programme is about regime survival. "Kim must have thought Iran was attacked like that because it didn’t have nuclear weapons," Song Seong-jong said.

North Korea

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