If the reason is nuclear, why are the US and Israel attacking Iran instead of North Korea?

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Questions have recently circulated on social media about US and Israeli strikes on Iran. The gist: if the two countries dislike the nuclear programme being pursued by Iran, why focus solely on Iran and not North Korea? North Korea has since 2024 openly admitted to testing nuclear weapons. Notably, this week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was reportedly overseeing tests of his country’s naval destroyers, while claiming Pyongyang is in the process of ‘arming the Navy with nuclear weapons’. Citing The New Indian Express, on Thursday 5 March 2026, former IFS official and former UN representative Manjeev Singh Puri explained that geography and regional influence make Iran a far more urgent strategic concern. Situated in the heart of the Middle East, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, missile programme, and its support for regional armed groups directly affect Israel and the US’s key allies, unlike the relatively contained threat posed by Pyongyang. ‘Another important factor is energy security,’ he added. ‘Iran lies along the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil transit chokepoint through which a large share of the world’s crude oil passes,’ he noted. ‘Any instability there has direct global economic consequences, making Iran central to international calculations.’ Puri also pointed to Donald Trump’s legacy, particularly the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, as a turning point that hardened positions and narrowed diplomatic space. This has brought tensions closer to confrontation.