TEHRAN – Abbas Talebifar, the newly appointed Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to North Korea, met with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi before departing for Pyongyang.
During the meeting, Mr. Talebifal presented his plans and proposals for fulfilling his responsibilities in his new role.
Araghchi wished the new special envoy every success in his mission and stressed the importance of utilizing all available capabilities to strengthen Tehran-North Korea relations in areas of common interest.
Before being appointed Ambassador to North Korea, Talevifar served as the Director of the Second East Asia and Oceania Department in Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and previously represented the country as Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam and Georgia.
Iran and North Korea have maintained stable political and economic relations since establishing diplomatic relations in 1973, despite facing decades of U.S. hostility and unilateral sanctions. Cooperation between the two countries has gained new momentum in recent years, especially after the United States withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2015 and reimposed sanctions on Iran.
In 2018, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho visited Tehran and the two countries discussed a common approach to countering U.S. pressure and sanctions. Since then, bilateral engagement has continued through regular diplomatic exchanges, with both countries stressing the need for unity between nations exposed to Western coercion.
Recently, as Iran, Russia, and North Korea converge in response to shared security and economic challenges, North Korea has sought to expand its engagement with Tehran. In April 2024, North Korean Minister of Foreign Economic Relations Yun Jong-ho led a high-level delegation to Iran to explore avenues for trade and cooperation. This is the first such visit in more than four years.
The visit follows Yun’s visit to Moscow and highlighted the growing diplomatic cooperation between the three countries in the face of U.S. and Western sanctions.
North Korea also expresses firm support for Iran’s regional positions, including opposition to Israeli military aggression. In a series of statements earlier this year, North Korea condemned Israeli attacks on Iranian sites and warned that such provocations risked sparking a broader regional conflict. North Korea also accused the United States and Israel of stirring up instability in West Asia and called on the international community to resist America’s destabilizing policies.