North Korea is building new ties with like-minded nations and entrenching older alliances beyond its powerful neighbors Russia and China. Recently, the Iranian regime seems to be of particular interest to Pyongyang and the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un .

"Just as in the Cold War, two blocs are emerging and North Korea sees this as a good opportunity to stand with Iran and repeat its opposition to the US," said Kim Sung Kyung, a professor of North Korean society and culture at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

"The North probably also sees this as a good opportunity to sell weapons and military technology to Tehran and obtain some sort of economic benefit in return, as there are powerful sanctions on both countries that limit what they are able to obtain," she said.

In late April, North Korea sent a high-level delegation of economic and trade experts on a nine-day visit to Tehran, the first such mission since 2019. As both nations remained tight-lipped on the details, analysts have speculated the talks involved military technology, including nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

Tehran, however, rejected assumptions that the delegates discussed cooperation on nuclear technology. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani slammed foreign media for "biased........

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