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North Korea said it wants the United States to stop its “indiscriminate use of force” as a new wave of U.S. airstrikes hit the Houthi militia group backed by Iran.
Ma Tong Hui, who is concurrently the top North Korean envoy to Egypt and Yemen, said the U.S. military‘s operations against Houthi positions in Yemen were “gravely violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries”; an intervention that pointed to Pyongyang’s growing alignment with Tehran-along with Moscow and Beijing-on global affairs.
The U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East as well as in Central and South Asia, did not immediately respond to a written request for comment.
Newsweek could not reach North Korea‘s embassy in Beijing for comment.
The Houthi rebels, who control Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and large parts of the Red Sea coast, briefly paused their yearlong attacks on merchant vessels around the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. However, this month, the Houthis resumed attempts to blockade shipments to Israel after the Gaza ceasefire broke down.
Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump launched the first major military offensive of his second presidency against the Houthis. He accused the rebels of waging “an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism” against U.S. and allied ships that has cost the global economy billions of dollars.
Pyongyang, which, like Tehran, is subject to heavy U.S. sanctions, said Washington’s decision would set back peace in the region, in an apparent nod to Trump’s campaign promise.
“At present, the situation in the Middle East has plunged into an uncontrollable evil cycle and the prospect of political settlement of disputes in the region has become gloomier,” said Ma, the North Korean ambassador.
Footage released by CENTCOM late on Tuesday showed elements of the carrier strike group led by the USS Harry S. Truman firing Tomahawk cruise missiles and launching F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jets from the Red Sea. This was part of a fourth straight night of airstrikes hitting Houthi-controlled areas.
The Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah TV outlet, which has reported dozens killed by U.S. strikes in the past days, said the Houthis attacked the Harry S. Truman and its escorts with cruise missiles and drones “for the fourth time in 72 hours.”
CENTCOM said in a video shared on Wednesday that a U.S. fighter aircraft shot down “Iran-backed Houthi one-way-attack drones” with precision-guided rockets.
Some observers have said that U.S. forces are expending a disproportionate amount of costly munitions against state-sponsored militant groups armed with cheaper weapons.
In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump warned Iran to stop its support for “the Houthi terrorists.” Tehran has long argued that the Houthis act independently.
Jamal Amer, the Houthi foreign minister, told Reuters earlier this week that the group would not “dial down” its actions against Israel and its supporters, despite appeals from allies including Iran.
Since late 2023, the Houthis have attacked more than 130 commercial vessels in and around the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, according to shipping specialists Lloyd’s List.
In 2022, the strategic sea passage connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden saw 22,500 ship transits-or 1,875 transits per month-but that number fell to just 864 last month, according to Lloyd’s List maritime data.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said in its latest Iran update: “The Houthis have reportedly rejected Iranian requests to halt attacks on international shipping and to reduce tensions with the United States and Israel. The Houthis’ refusal to ‘dial down’ tensions with the United States and Israel, despite Iran’s reported call for calm, demonstrates how the Houthis are aligned with Iran but do not answer directly to Iran.”
Jakob Larsen, chief maritime safety and security officer at the Baltic and International Maritime Council, told Lloyd’s List: “I don’t believe the new Houthi message will change the security risk assessments in any way. I suspect the Houthis are just ensuring they are part of the picture also in the media.”
American and coalition naval forces continue to patrol the Red Sea as part of U.S.-led operation Prosperity Guardian and EU-led Operation Aspides.
“Defensive interceptions have been at the heart of these naval missions, thwarting approximately 150 attacks. The sheer number of interceptions has also contributed to the depletion of the Houthis’ weapons stocks,” researchers Edward Beales and Wolf-Christian Paes wrote in a blog post Wednesday for the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a London think tank.
Lloyd’s List said: “Shipping companies still remain largely on the sidelines regarding the Red Sea situation, in no hurry to return to this key route connecting Europe and Asia, despite the nearly two-month official pause in attacks.”