North Korea’s envoy to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Kim Jong-gyu, asserts that the United States and Western nations are trying to erase any evidence of their role in the explosions that damaged the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines. This claim was reported by TASS, citing Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Kim Jong-gyu contends that Moscow’s legitimate appeals to join the inquiry and to pursue a joint international investigation under United Nations authority were rejected by Washington and its Western partners. He argues that Russia was left uninformed about the investigation’s progress, highlighting a lack of transparency in Western-led probes.
A spokesperson for North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs described Western actions as crude attempts to conceal crimes, urging the international community to back Russia’s call for a formal investigation into the Nord Stream sabotage. The remarks reflect Pyongyang’s broader distrust of Western-led investigations into critical energy infrastructure incidents.
North Korea has long criticized what it views as overreach by NATO in European security matters. In recent statements, Pyongyang has connected the Nord Stream aftermath to broader regional alliances and strategic tensions, calling attention to the potential vulnerabilities of energy corridors that cross multiple borders. This stance fits into a pattern of North Korean foreign policy that seeks to position itself as a counterweight to Western influence and to highlight perceived inconsistencies in Western reactions to international crises.
In related commentary, North Korea referenced past military and security dynamics in Northeast Asia, noting that submarine activity and power projection in nearby theaters have historically shaped regional risk assessments. By framing these incidents within a broader dialogue on nuclear policy and regional stability, Pyongyang signals its intent to monitor how Western powers handle crises that could affect global energy security and strategic balance.