Published On 4/27/2026
Since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran on February 28, North Korea has conducted 5 missile tests, 4 of which were this April, the highest monthly toll since January 2024, which analysts consider Pyongyang’s exploitation of the United States’ preoccupation with that war to accelerate its military program and enhance its nuclear capabilities.
Observers and experts who spoke to Agence France-Presse believe that these tests reflect North Korea’s desire to display its power in light of the shifts in the balance of power and international rules due to conflicts, especially in the Middle East.
Lim Eul-chul, an expert on North Korea at Kyungnam University in South Korea, said: “The current global security landscape has turned into a no-rules zone where international standards no longer apply and…“North Korea is exploiting this vacuum to supplement its nuclear arsenal.”
This acceleration came shortly after the North Korean ruling Workers’ Party held a conference two months ago to determine national trends.
Hong Min, a researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, believes that the timing suggests that Pyongyang seeks to “demonstrate tangible progress” in its military capabilities.
During this conference, which is held every 5 years, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stressed that his country’s nuclear status is “irreversible and permanent.”
Pyongyang says that its military programs aim to deter any attempt to overthrow its regime, which is what it accuses the United States of seeking for decades.
Missile tests
The latest tests included ballistic missiles, which are banned under sanctions, as well as anti-ship cruise missiles and tactical missiles equipped with cluster munitions.
Analysts point to technical progress and an increasing ability to use dual weapons, conventional and nuclear. Lim said North Korea appears capable of using miniature nuclear warheads and carrying out “sinking attacks” aimed at overwhelming defense systems through the density of projectiles.
He added, “The regime believes that the time is appropriate to accelerate offensive deterrence and develop conventional and nuclear forces in parallel, as long as the United States is busy in the Middle East.”
Limits of conviction
Pyongyang condemned the US attacks on Iran, describing them as “gangster actions,” but it does not appear to have provided military support to Tehran as it did with Russia in the Ukraine war, nor did it direct criticism of Donald Trump, who met Kim three times.
The US President is scheduled to go to China next May, while talk has renewed of the possibility of holding a fourth summit with Kim Jong Un, although previous initiatives have not yielded results. Pyongyang reiterated its rejection of the denuclearization demanded by Washington.
Statute of penalties
North Korea also sees its military movements as a way to highlight the strength of its alliance with Russia, to which it has provided economic and technical support in exchange for sending North Korean forces to fight in Ukraine.
Lim said that this was “an attempt to show that it has a strong ally, Russia, despite American and Chinese pressure, which makes the de facto sanctions obsolete.”
Relations between the two countries recently witnessed the opening of the first land bridge linking them, in addition to the start of construction of a “Friendship Hospital” in the city of Wonsan, eastern North Korea.
It was also reported that the North Korean ambassador in Moscow discussed the possibility of agricultural cooperation in the Kherson region of Ukraine, which is under Russian control.
“North Korea is one of the few countries that is not afraid to operate in the occupied Ukrainian territories, and both sides are benefiting from this situation,” said Fyodor Tertitsky, a North Korea specialist at Korea University in Seoul.
