South Korea’s spy agency is examining whether North Korean technology was used in the ballistic missiles that Iran used in its attack against Israel last week.
“We are keeping tabs on whether the North Korean technology was included in Iran's ballistic missiles launched against Israel, given the North and Iran's missile cooperation in the past,” the National Intelligence Service (NIS) said, according to Korea Times.
The United States has long been aware that North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has provided missiles and ballistic missile technologies to Iran. Years ago, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Major General Yahya Rahim-Safavi, acknowledged that Iran had purchased Scud B and Scud C missiles from “foreign countries like North Korea” in the 1980s.
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Iran’s Shahab-3 is based on the North Korean Nodong, a medium-range ballistic missile. Iran, however, has worked to extend the range and effectiveness of the weapon, according to the National Air and Space Intelligence Center. Iran’s Korramshahr missile is believed to be based on North Korea’s Musudan ballistic missile, the Associated Press reported.
The State Department is “incredibly concerned” about the prospect of Iran and North Korea working together to pursue nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters Tuesday.
The concern about North Korea providing technologies for the war comes just days after Iran launched a salvo of over 300 missiles and drones against Israel in retaliation for a deadly attack on an Iranian mission in Syria earlier this month.
The United States, along with other allies, helped Israel deflect the Iranian attack. No major destruction was sustained in the attack, but concerns remain about whether the Israel-Iran conflict could erupt into an open war.
Iran’s attack on April 13 was Tehran’s first-ever direct attack on Israel.
The concerns about North Korea’s role in arming Iran come just weeks after the South Korean spy agency confirmed that Hamas, an Iran-backed proxy group, had used Korean technology in its war with Israel.
A shipment of weapons from North Korea that was seized in transit In 2009 was destined for Iran, according to a Thai government assessment.
Other North Korean clients for ballistic missiles and associated technologies through the years have included Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, and Yemen, according to the Defense Intelligence Agency.
