North Korea delegation in Iran in bid to break diplomatic isolation

A high-level North Korean economic delegation is on its way to Iran for what would be the two countries’ first known talks since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, state media reported.

Embracing the idea of a “new Cold War”, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, pictured, is pushing to build up co-operation with countries confronting the United States, as his intensified weapons tests prompted the US and South Korea to expand their military drills.

A delegation led by Yun Jung Ho, North Korea’s minster of external economic relations, flew out on Tuesday for the trip to Iran, the official Korean Central News Agency said.

Pyongyang and Tehran are among the few governments in the world that support Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of

Ukraine, and both have been accused of providing Russia with military equipment.

The last known time North Korea sent senior officials to Iran was in August 2019, by a group led by Pak Chol Min, vice chair of Pyongyang’s rubber-stamp parliament. The two countries had diplomatic exchanges until North Korea sealed its borders in an effort to stave off the pandemic, before a cautious reopening in 2023.

North Korea has made efforts for months to boost the visibility of its ties with Russia and China as Mr Kim attempts to break out of diplomatic isolation and join a united front against the US.

In 2023, Mr Kim visited Russia’s Far East for a rare summit with Mr Putin, which highlighted the countries’ expanding military co-operation, including the North’s alleged transfers of artillery shells, missiles, and other munitions to Russia.

Earlier this month, Mr Kim hosted top Chinese official Zhao Leji, who heads the ceremonial parliament and ranks third in the ruling Communist Party hierarchy. It was the highest-level meeting between the countries in years.

Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader’s powerful sister, yesterday slammed the latest rounds of Us-south Korean joint military drills and insisted that the allies will never break the North’s determination to build up “our overwhelming and most powerful military muscle”.