In a significant development, a high-level delegation from North Korea has embarked on a rare foreign trip to Iran, marking the first such visit since 2019. This visit has raised concerns about alleged cooperation between the two countries in the development of nuclear and ballistic missile programs, which has prompted warnings from the US State Department.
The North Korean delegation, led by Minister for External Economic Relations Yun Jong Ho, departed for Iran on Tuesday. While the state-run KCNA news agency has confirmed the visit, details about its purpose and agenda remain undisclosed.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service is monitoring reports of potential North Korean technology being used in Iran’s ballistic missiles, given their prior missile cooperation. This visit and the alleged collaboration between Iran and North Korea have garnered international attention due to the severe sanctions imposed on both countries for their weapons programs.
In a recent statement, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller expressed concerns about the alleged cooperation between Tehran and Pyongyang in nuclear and ballistic missile development. Both countries have been under harsh international sanctions for their weapons programs.
Last week, South Korea’s spy agency, the National Intelligence Service (NIS), said it is “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.”
Pyongyang has also faced accusations from the West that Palestinian armed group Hamas, which has ties with Iran, used North Korean weapons in its attack against Israel on October 7.
At the time, KCNA rejected the claims as “a groundless and false rumor,” aimed to “shift the blame for the Middle East crisis caused by [the US] wrong hegemonic policy onto a third country.”
North Korea and Iran have also been accused by the US and its allies of respectively providing artillery shells and drones to Russia amid the conflict with Ukraine. Pyongyang and Tehran have denied the claims, while Russia has insisted it relies on domestically produced weapons for its military operation.
