The Iran war will provoke a new nuclear age

On 23 March, three weeks into the US-Israel war with Iran, Kim Jong Un delivered what amounted to a victory speech at the Supreme People’s Assembly in Pyongyang. The US was “committing state terror and acts of aggression all over the world”, the North Korean leader declared, with the rights of sovereign nations “trampled upon by unilateral coercion and tyranny”. Yet his country was now protected by its “nuclear shield”, vindicating the regime’s pursuit of nuclear weapons despite the sanctions and international isolation this had wrought. “Today’s reality clearly demonstrates the legitimacy of our nation’s strategic choice and decision to…