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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the Sangwon Cement Complex in North Hwanghae Province on March 1, 2026, to encourage workers, the Korean Central News Agency reported on March 2. (KCNA/Yonhap)

On Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a cement factory and commended workers for production achievements. Kim’s public appearance shortly after the US and Israel launched a decapitation strike against Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, appears to be a display of confidence that the US is not to be feared and that North Korea’s economic growth strategies will continue without interruption.

North Korea’s ruling party-run Rodong Sinmun reported on Monday that Kim visited the Sangwon Cement Complex in North Hwanghae Province on Sunday. Despite some projections that Kim must be cowering in fear after recent attacks on Iran, North Korea experts say that’s not the case. 

“If Kim was frightened by the situation in Iran, he could not have proceeded to inspect a cement factory,” commented Chang Yong-seok, a visiting researcher at Seoul National University’s Institute for Peace and Unification Studies. “The decisive difference between North Korea and Iran is nuclear capability, specifically the ability to strike South Korea and Japan with medium- and long-range missiles.”
 
“During the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, Kim Jong-il went into hiding in Mount Paektu,” Chang remarked, “but Kim Jong-un is displaying confidence that [North Korea’s] strategic position has risen due to nuclear deterrence and closer ties with Russia.” 

Choi Yong-hwan, the vice president for research at the Institute for National Security Strategy, also noted that Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal sets it apart from Tehran. 

“North Korea has already produced 40 to 50 nuclear warheads and possesses the missile capability to deliver them, so the US cannot attack North Korea the way it did Iran,” Choi said. 

There are also fundamental differences in the geopolitics of the Middle East and East Asia. While Israel leads the charge against Iran, South Korea and China firmly oppose war on the Korean Peninsula.

US President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to China this April has been seen as a critical inflection point that might lead to the resumption of North Korea-US talks. As the US launched an attack on Iran amid negotiations, conflicting analyses have emerged regarding the situation on the Korean Peninsula. On one hand, some experts suggest that this may weaken North Korea’s motivation to engage in dialogue with the US, while others say North Korea is more likely to enter negotiations in order to manage the situation.

“Kim is well aware that among all US presidents, Trump has been the most sincere about negotiations with North Korea, and that the window for negotiations is narrowing over time. Rather than completely closing the door on negotiations and adopting an ultra-hard-line stance, North Korea will likely seek to leave room for talks to manage [risks] during the Trump era,” Choi predicted. 

On Sunday night, a spokesperson for North Korea’s Foreign Ministry condemned the US and Israel’s attack on Iran as “an illegal act of aggression and the most despicable form of violation of sovereignty.” However, the statement refrained from directly naming and criticizing Trump, which may be a strategic choice to leave room for negotiation.

The bigger issue is that the Iran conflict has further solidified North Korea’s resolve to strengthen its nuclear capabilities, meaning that even if North Korea-US dialogue resumes, the possibility of North Korea’s denuclearization has become much more distant. 

“Even if Kim meets Trump, denuclearization negotiations will not take place,” said Lee Byong-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies.

“Kim has become more convinced that he must possess nuclear weapons to protect his regime and prevent reckless actions from the US. He will double down on his efforts to enhance North Korea’s nuclear capabilities,” he added.

By Park Min-hee, senior staff writer; Jang Ye-ji, staff reporter; Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

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