00:00North Korea appears to be quietly pulling back from longtime partner Iran while keeping its
00:06options open with the United States. That's according to South Korean lawmakers on Monday
00:11after they were briefed by the country's intelligence agency. Seoul's National Intelligence
00:16Service, or NIS, said Pyongyang hasn't sent weapons or supplies to Iran since the war
00:22began in late February and has stayed notably silent after Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah
00:27Ali Khamenei was killed in airstrikes. North Korea also did not congratulate Khamenei's
00:33son after he was named Iran's new leader. While China and Russia have spoken out repeatedly
00:39on the conflict, Pyongyang has issued just two toned-down statements so far and has avoided
00:45direct criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump. The NIS believes that restraint is deliberate,
00:51aimed at preserving diplomatic space ahead of the summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping
00:56and Trump in May. At the same time, South Korean intelligence says the war is adding to pressure
01:02on North Korea's economy, forcing Pyongyang to look beyond Iran for support. Park Soon-won is a member
01:09of the South Korean Parliament's Intelligence Committee. North Korea is also facing significant
01:14economic difficulties due to the war in the Middle East. They are experiencing setbacks in securing
01:20industrial supplies, rising prices, and soaring exchange rates. Amid these circumstances,
01:27they are making moves to secure additional oil from Russia.
01:33Intelligence officials say Kim Jong-un's recent comments about getting along with the U.S.
01:38point to a calculated move, positioning North Korea for talks with Washington once the Middle East
01:44conflict calms down.
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