North Korea distancing itself from Iran to leave door open for US talks, Seoul says
SEOUL, April 6 (Reuters) – North Korea is distancing itself from longtime partner Iran and carefully managing its public messaging to preserve the possibility of a new relationship with the United States after the Iran war, South Korean lawmakers said on Monday, citing the spy agency.
Lawmaker Park Sun-won, who attended the closed-door briefing organized by NIS, said that Seoul’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) said that North Korea has not sent weapons or materials to Iran since the conflict began on February 28, and has not expressed public condolences over the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in airstrikes.
Referring to the NIS, Park said Pyongyang did not send any congratulatory message if Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was elected the new religious leader.
While China and Russia frequently make statements regarding the conflict, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry has issued only two toned-down statements so far; The NIS said it was consistent with North Korea’s recent trend of avoiding direct criticism of US President Donald Trump.
The lawmaker said that NIS considers this restriction as a preparation to provide new diplomatic space after the summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump, expected to be held in May.
North Korea also faces significant economic hardship, with disruptions in the supply of industrial materials, rising prices and a rising exchange rate linked to the Middle East crisis, the NIS told lawmakers.
NIS said North Korea was also trying to secure Russia’s oil supplies.
At North Korea’s Ninth Workers’ Party Congress in late February, Kim appeared open to talks with Washington, saying there was no reason why the countries could not “get along well” if the United States recognized North Korea’s nuclear state status and rolled back its hostile policy.
Park said the NIS viewed these statements, made in Kim’s own voice, as a deliberate signal aimed at keeping relations with Trump in good standing and positioning Pyongyang for a new diplomatic page once the conflict in the Middle East ends.
(Reporting by Jack Kim and Joyce Lee, Editing by Ed Davies)
