Why Iran and North Korea are ‘highly likely’ to revive missile and nuclear cooperation

As war with the United States and Israel batters Iran’s missile and nuclear infrastructure, analysts say Tehran is likely to turn to North Korea once again after the fighting stops, reviving a long-suspected partnership built on shared hostility towards Washington and years of military cooperation. North Korea has long been suspected of supplying missile technology to Iran and providing technical help with uranium enrichment, and analysts say it is likely to do so again once the war ends. “North Korea and Iran will likely resume cooperation in missiles and rebuilding uranium enrichment facilities as Iran acutely feels the need to secure capabilities to mount massive retaliatory attacks,” said Cho Han-bum, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Security (KINU). “When the war is over, it is highly likely that the two countries will strengthen their bilateral ties,” he said, noting that both governments saw the US as their primary strategic rival. In a show of solidarity with Iran, North Korea on Wednesday expressed support for the election of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s supreme leader by the Assembly of Experts. “We respect the rights and choice of the Iranian people to elect their supreme leader,” the foreign ministry said in remarks carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). “We strongly denounce the acts of aggression by the US and Israel that are destroying the foundations of regional peace and security and escalating instability worldwide by mounting an illegal military attack on Iran.” On March 1, North Korea condemned the US-Israeli strikes on Iran as “gangster-like conduct”, though it stopped short of directly criticising US President Donald Trump. Professor Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies said Pyongyang’s recent long-range cruise missile test from its newest destroyer could also carry a post-war message aimed at potential buyers such as Iran. “The low-flying, radar-evading strategic cruise missile might be capable of avoiding South Korean and US air defence systems. The test could serve as a marketing message intended for Iran after the war,” Yang said. After overseeing the launch of cruise missiles from the newly built destroyer Choe Hyon, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared on Tuesday that the country’s nuclear forces had entered a “multi-operational phase”, as South Korea and the US began their annual springtime military drills, code-named “Freedom Shield”. Kim observed the test via video and emphasised the importance of maintaining and expanding a “powerful and reliable nuclear war deterrent”, according to KCNA. North Korea conducted a similar strategic cruise missile test from the destroyer last week ahead of the warship’s commissioning. Pyongyang’s use of the term “strategic” suggests that the missiles could potentially carry nuclear warheads. The test came as Kim’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, condemned the Freedom Shield exercises as “a high-intensity large-scale war mobilisation exercise conducted by the most hostile entities at our doorstep”. “The muscle-flexing of hostile forces near areas of our state’s sovereignty and security may cause unimaginably terrible consequences,” she said in a statement carried by KCNA. She added that the exercise was taking place at a “critical time” when war was breaking out due to the “reckless acts of outrageous international rogues” – an apparent reference to the US and Israel – and warned that North Korea would counter strategic threats with a devastating arsenal of “all available special means”. Professor Lim Eul-chul at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University said the phrase likely referred to tactical nuclear weapons, reflecting Pyongyang’s anxiety that it could be the next target. “Kim Yo-jong’s statement and the strategic cruise missile test show that North Korea is engaged in a sophisticated pressure campaign against the US,” Lim said. “The core message North Korea is sending is not conciliatory but rather a show of force – that its military power has already expanded beyond the scope that the US can easily control.” The 11-day Freedom Shield exercise, which began on Monday, includes drills simulating real-war scenarios and incorporating modern warfare tactics. It is expected to feature about 18,000 troops and 22 field training drills – roughly half the 51 drills staged last year – as Seoul seeks to avoid escalating tensions ahead of Trump’s planned visit to Beijing at the end of the month. North Korea and Iran have been close since establishing diplomatic ties in 1973, particularly when both countries faced international sanctions over their weapons programmes. Oh Gyeong-seob, a senior research fellow at KINU, said the relationship had long centred on military cooperation, with North Korea exporting missile technology and assisting Iranian forces through training and technical support. The partnership dates back to the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, when Iran needed missiles to retaliate against Iraqi attacks. North Korea reportedly supplied Tehran with Scud-B and Scud-C ballistic missiles. In the 1990s, Iran’s Shahab missile series was reportedly developed using technology derived from North Korea’s Nodong missile. Iran later developed the Shahab-3, which has an estimated range of about 1,300km (800 miles). The US has repeatedly accused Pyongyang of assisting Tehran’s ballistic missile programmes, describing North Korea as the “principal supplier to Iran of ballistic missile technologies”. A United Nations expert panel reported that the two countries resumed cooperation on long-range missile development in 2020, including transfers of components and technical help. Possible nuclear links have also been suspected, although concrete evidence remains limited. Iranian scientists were reportedly present at North Korea’s nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013, and South Korean and Japanese media reported in 2011 that hundreds of North Korean engineers and scientists were working at multiple Iranian nuclear or missile facilities. “There is no solid evidence, but it is strongly suspected that North Korea and Iran may have secretly cooperated in nuclear programmes,” Oh said. “Since 2020, trilateral cooperation involving Russia, North Korea and Iran has also strengthened,” he added, noting that the three countries shared opposition to the US and Western influence. Through such exchanges, Iran could gain missile technology and military expertise from North Korea, which in turn could receive oil and energy resources. “It is highly likely that North Korea, which is prohibited from selling weapons and military technology under international sanctions, has been cooperating with Iran clandestinely,” Oh said. “Because of sanctions, Iran has few alternative sources other than North Korea and Russia for weapons imports. It is strongly suspected that Iran’s advances in missile development and nuclear technology may have been assisted by North Korea.”

Why Iran and North Korea are ‘highly likely’ to revive missile and nuclear cooperation

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}North Korea has long been suspected of supplying missile technology to Iran and providing technical help on uranium enrichment

North Korea has long been suspected of supplying missile technology to Iran and providing technical help on uranium enrichment