Iran heavily invested in North Korean missile program
LONDON — Teheran has been financing Pyongyang's intermediate and ICBM programs for nearly a decade, Western intelligence sources said. The funding has been part of a deal in which North Korea would share missile technology and equipment with Iran.
"Anytime you hear of a North Korean success, translate that directly into an Iranian success," an intelligence source said. "You can be sure that within a few weeks, Iran will receive briefings, training and eventually production expertise from Pyongyang."
Iran is believed to have invested more than $1 billion in North Korean missile development, the sources said. In 2005, North Korea increased missile technology transfers to Teheran as it sought to accelerate the Shihab program.
On July 4, North fired six missiles, including a Taepodong-2, with a range of between 3,400 and 4,000 kilometers. But the flight of the Taepodong-2 lasted about 40 seconds and the missile fell in the Sea of Japan.
U.S. National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said Pyongyang also fired two Scuds and three No-Dong missiles. Hadley called the launch of the Taepodong-2 a failure. A seventh North Korean missile was fired on July 5.
The sources said Iran has used North Korean technology for its Shihab-3 and -4 intermediate-range missile programs. Teheran has also sent Iranian engineers to Pyongyang for training in ICBM development.
So far, Iran has developed a Shihab-3 with a range of 2,000 kilometers. The Shihab-3 is believed to be a variant of North Korea's No-Dong, with a range of 1,300 kilometers.
"They [North Korea] have decided as a strategy to proliferate weapons of mass destruction, it would appear," Gen. B.B. Bell, commander of the U.S. military in South Korea, told a briefing on May 24. "They decided as a strategy to make missile technology and other technologies for sale on the world market to the highest bidder.
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