North Korea denounces US attacks on Iran

North Korea Condemns US Strikes on Iran, Blames Israel for Regional Tensions

North Korea on Monday strongly condemned the US strikes on Iran, calling them a violation of the United Nations Charter and blaming the escalating Middle East tensions on Israel’s "reckless aggression."

This marks North Korea’s first official reaction to the US attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend.

"The Democratic People's Republic of Korea strongly denounces the US attack on Iran, which constitutes a serious breach of the UN Charter's principle of respect for sovereignty," a spokesperson for North Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement carried by state media.

The spokesperson further blamed Israel for fueling the current crisis, stating that the regional turmoil is "an inevitable consequence of Israel's reckless aggression," accusing the country of pursuing "endless war and territorial expansion to serve its unilateral interests."

The United States, for its part, claimed on Sunday that its strikes had severely damaged Iran’s nuclear programme but maintained that it was not seeking regime change in Tehran.

"Monumental damage was done to all nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term!" US President Donald Trump wrote on social media, though he did not provide the referenced images.

North Korea, which is believed to possess dozens of nuclear warheads and advanced delivery systems, remains locked in a standoff with South Korea and its key ally, the United States, which stations around 30,000 troops on the Korean peninsula. The two Koreas remain technically at war, as the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.