I received these comments along with the article below from Dr. Bruce Bechtol who arguably studies this problem more than any Korean scholar and knows more about the north Korea-Iranian relationship (and north Korean missiles) than anyone I know.
Please see the press piece below. I cannot beat on this drum enough; there is a clear and longstanding relationship between North Korea and Iran that involves nuclear weapons (HEU), ballistic missiles, and conventional weapons. But there is no (zero) "assistance" going from Iran to North Korea. This is simply a buyer-seller relationship - with North Korea being the seller and Iran the buyer. There are most certainly Iranian missile experts in North Korea - there have been Iranian missile experts in North Korea for every single ballistic missile launch Pyongyang has conducted. But they have been there in the past and are there now to learn and to consider buying a product - not to "offer technical assistance." Any reporter, scholar, or pundit who states this incorrect assessment simply has not done their research. It is true that Iran has launched - successfully - satellites in the past. But they were TWO-STAGE platforms. And these platforms were launched with a great deal of technical assistance from the North Koreans. The Iranians are in North Korea right now to see if the DPRK can successfully launch - finally - a three stage, intercontinental, ballistic missile. If they can, the Iranians will likely pay the North Koreans billions (yes, with a "B") of dollars in hard currency to get this technology (and likely several of the missiles themselves). This would give the Iranians an ICBM capability. One they have been wanting for years.
V/R
Dave
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
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Iranian experts at N Korea’s rocket site: report
SEOUL: A group of Iranian missile experts are in North Korea offering technical assistance with a planned long-range rocket launch condemned by the international community, a report said Monday.
The Iranians were invited after Pyongyang’s last rocket launch in April ended in failure, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper said, citing a Seoul government official. “A car seen at the... launch site has been spotted driving back and forth from the accommodation facility nearby. It is believed to be carrying Iranian experts,” Chosun quoted the unnamed official as saying. “It appears that the connection between the North and Iran in missile (development) dating back to the 1980s is more extensive than previously believed,” the official said. Earlier this month, Japan’s Kyodo news agency quoted a western diplomatic source as saying Iran had stationed defence staff in North Korea since October to strengthen cooperation in missile and nuclear development.
(Continued at the link below)
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