North Korea is latest to back Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. Who else has- and who hasn't? Full list
North Korea has endorsed Iran's appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as supreme leader and condemned US-Israeli strikes as ‘unlawful,’ whilst Kim Jong Un oversaw a fresh cruise missile test from Pyongyang's largest warship. Here's what it means for the widening conflict.
North Korea has thrown its weight behind Iran's new supreme leadership and delivered its sharpest condemnation yet of the US-Israeli war on Iran, even as Kim Jong Un personally oversaw the test-firing of strategic cruise missiles from Pyongyang's most powerful warship, signalling that the West Asia conflict is now drawing in nuclear-armed states far beyond the Middle East.
North Korea Endorses Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran's New Supreme Leader
State-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Wednesday quoted a spokesperson from North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs explicitly endorsing Tehran's new leadership following the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a US-Israeli strike on 28 February — the opening salvo of the war now in its 12th day.
The Iranian Assembly of Experts has since elected Mojtaba Khamenei, the late supreme leader's son, as his successor.
"Regarding the recent official announcement that the Iranian Assembly of Experts has elected a new leader of the Islamic Revolution, we respect the right and choice of the Iranian people to elect their Supreme Leader," KCNA quoted the ministry spokesperson as saying.
Which Countries Have Welcomed Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran's New Supreme Leader?
Global reactions split sharply along geopolitical lines. Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said sent a formal congratulatory message, followed swiftly by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who expressed confidence in the new leadership's ability to navigate “this sensitive stage”.
Russia's Vladimir Putin pledged "unwavering support" for Tehran, calling Russia "a reliable partner" to Iran. China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said the appointment was “based on its constitution” and warned against interference in Iran's internal affairs.
Yemen's Houthi movement celebrated the appointment as "a new victory for the Islamic Revolution and a resounding blow to the enemies of the Islamic Republic." North Korea also separately extended its endorsement.
On the opposing side, Trump dismissed Mojtaba Khamenei as a “lightweight”, and told CBS News he had “no message for him”, and claimed to have his own candidate in mind to lead Iran.
Israel's Foreign Ministry called the new leader “another tyrant”, posting: "Mojtaba Khamenei's hands are already stained with the bloodshed that defined his father's rule." Al Jazeera reported that the Israeli military has already threatened to kill him.
Pyongyang Condemns US-Israeli Strikes on Iran as 'Unlawful' Attack
North Korea's condemnation of the war escalated significantly on Wednesday, with Pyongyang framing the conflict in explicitly geopolitical terms.
"We express grave concern and strongly condemn the aggression of the United States and Israel, which, by launching an unlawful military attack against Iran, are undermining the foundations of regional peace and security and increasing instability in the international landscape," the spokesperson from North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The statement went further, condemning the attacks for undermining "the political system and territorial integrity of a country" — conduct the spokesperson declared "must be condemned and rejected by the entire world."
It marks a notable hardening of Pyongyang's position since it first branded the US-Israeli campaign "gangster-like conduct" in the immediate aftermath of the war's launch 12 days ago.
Kim Jong Un Oversees Strategic Cruise Missile Test From Pyongyang's Largest Warship
Simultaneously, KCNA reported that Kim Jong Un had personally overseen the test-firing of strategic cruise missiles from the Choe Hyon, North Korea's newest and largest naval destroyer.
It was the second missile test from the vessel conducted under Kim's direct supervision, following a launch last week in which he lauded his country's progress in “arming the Navy with nuclear weapons.”
During Wednesday's test, Kim spoke of the critical strategic importance of "maintaining and expanding a powerful and reliable nuclear war deterrent" — language that, coming amid a live conflict involving North Korea's allies, carries considerable weight.
What North Korea's Nuclear Posture Means for Iran-US War?
The timing of the missile test alongside Pyongyang's political endorsement of Tehran is unlikely to be coincidental.
The United States has spent decades attempting to dismantle North Korea's nuclear programme, with little measurable success. Pyongyang has consistently maintained that its nuclear arsenal is essential to deter any threat of invasion by South Korea and its Washington-backed allies.
The Trump administration had in recent months signalled a willingness to revive high-level dialogue with North Korea, and Kim himself indicated the two nations could "get along" — provided Washington accepted Pyongyang's status as a nuclear power. Whether that diplomatic opening survives North Korea's open alignment with Iran against the United States remains to be seen.
About the Author
Sayantani Biswas is an assistant editor at Livemint with seven years of experience covering geopolitics, foreign policy, international relations and global power dynamics. She reports on Indian and international politics, including elections worldwide, and specialises in historically grounded analysis of contemporary conflicts and state decisions. She joined Mint in 2021, after covering politics at publications including The Telegraph. <br> She holds an MPhil in Comparative Literature from Jadavpur University (2019), with a specialisation in postcolonial Latin American literature. Her research examined economic nationalism through Eduardo Galeano’s Open Veins of Latin America. She also writes on political language, cultural memory and the long shadows of conflict. <br> Biswas grew up in Durgapur, an industrial town in West Bengal shaped by migration, which drew families from across India to the Durgapur Steel Plant. As the only child in a joint family, she spent years listening—almost obsessively—to her grandparents’ testimonies of struggle, fear and loss as they fled Bangladesh during the Partition of 1947. This formative exposure to lived historical memory later converged with her training in Comparative Literature, equipping her to analyse socio-economic structures and their reverberations. <br> Outside the newsroom, she gravitates towards cultural history and critical theory, returning often to texts such as Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. As a journalist, she is committed to accuracy, intellectual rigour and fairness, and believes political reporting demands not only clarity and speed, but historical depth, contextual precision, and a disciplined resistance to spectacle.