The reality of ‘North Korea-Iran missile cooperation’… “Continued since the 1980s”

Cooperation not only in missiles but also in uranium enrichment and submarine fields
U.S. government “takes threats from North Korea and Iran seriously”

In November 2019, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) under the U.S. Department of Defense analyzed in a report on Iran’s military capabilities that North Korea’s technology was linked to Iran’s weapons systems, including ballistic missiles.

The report assessed that intermediate-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) in particular were influenced by North Korean missile technology.

Representatively, Iran’s main intermediate-range ballistic missile, the liquid fuel-propelled ‘Shahab 3’, is known to be based on North Korea’s ‘Rodong’ missile, and the ‘Khorramshahr’, which Iran has been producing since 2017, is also North Korea’s ‘armorless missile’. The report explained that it was linked to Sudan’s missile technology.

Experts believe that cooperation between North Korea and Iran in the missile field began in the 1980s. The two countries also have a common denominator: they have opposed the United States and secretly pursued nuclear and missile development since establishing diplomatic ties in 1973.

At the time, North Korea developed Scud missiles with financial support from Iran and exported them to Iran, and Iran reportedly began to independently improve its performance based on this.

Missile cooperation between North Korea and Iran continued, and U.S. intelligence agencies frequently released reports related to this.

In a 2016 report, U.S. intelligence officials assessed that ballistic missile cooperation between North Korea and Iran has become more frequent since 2013.

The UN Security Council’s expert panel under the North Korea Sanctions Committee also pointed out in its annual report released in 2019 that cooperation between North Korea and Iran in the military field is still ongoing. Cooperation not only in the missile field but also in the construction of centrifuge facilities for uranium enrichment and the development of submarine fields was also mentioned.

Ian Williams, deputy director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), attracted attention by providing an analysis that Iran is supporting North Korea’s solid fuel technology development in an interview with the Voice of America (VOA) in 2020.

Deputy Director Williams said that Iran has advanced technology compared to North Korea in the solid fuel sector, and that the ‘Fateh’ series of solid fuel-based short-range ballistic missiles is a representative example.

When asked at a briefing on the 16th (local time) whether he had any concerns about Iran cooperating with North Korea to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said, “Obviously, that’s something we’ve been incredibly concerned about.” said.

Of course, this question arose because a major issue arose: Iran’s missile attack on Israel.

When asked at a briefing on the same day whether there was a possibility that Iran used North Korean weapons to attack Israel, Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said, “We cannot speculate,” and added, “We take the threat posed by North Korea and Iran very seriously.” “It is,” he said.

Due to the conflict between Iran and Israel, the so-called ‘North Korea variable’ is once again attracting the attention of the international community.

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