North Korea and Iran: The Evil Axis of Missiles

New ‘Partnership’ Of Evil: North Korea and Iran – It should not surprise us that Iran is acquiring technology and ballistic missiles from North Korea. The newly resurgent “Axis of Evil” is alive and well in 2024.

North Korea has always needed hard currency, and providing the missiles and technical know-how to Iran in exchange for monetary funding and goodwill is irresistible to diabolical North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Sadly, the DPRK has been working with Tehran on missile tech for years, and the results of that partnership could have wide-ranging impacts all over the Middle East and, specifically for Israel.

North Korea Aids Iran in Missile Development

Iran, for example, has a ballistic missile it calls the Emad. This model is actually a Shahab-3, which itself is a copy of the North Korean ballistic missile called NoDong. The Emad has a more extended range than the NoDong that enables it to strike Israel, and it is essential to note that the North Koreans have their fingerprints all over the Emad.

History of Iranian and North Korean Partnership

The North Korean and Iranian missile partnership has been active since the 1980s when Tehran acquired the Hwasong-5 missile from the DPRK for use in the Iran-Iraq War.

This led to the development and transfer of the improved Hwasong-6 from North Korea to Iran. In the 1990s, the North Korean Hwasong-7, with five times the range of the Hwasong-5, proliferated in Iran. This put American military installations in the Middle East, including the entirety of Israel, within range. The Hwasong-7 could hold more fuel and a bigger payload.

The Hwasong-10 entered Iran in the early 2000s. With the advent of the Hwasong-10 technology, the Iranians were able to develop the Khoramshahr series of ballistic missiles. North Korea and Iran may be currently working on hypersonic weapons development.

Watch These Countries Closely

As Israeli missile expert Tal Inbar says, according to North Korean missile expert Bruce E. Bechtol, “If you see it in North Korea today, you will see it in Iran tomorrow.”

Iran, of course, denies it is working with North Korea on missile development. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani calls the cooperation between the two terrorist-enabling states a “biased speculation based on untrue reports.”

Could Iran Acquire an ICBM from North Korea?

One of the biggest concerns about the Iran-North Korea nexus is the potential of Tehran acquiring the Hwasong-15 ICBM. When Iran tests a nuclear device and devises a way to mate it to a ballistic missile, it will achieve a global power status.

So far, Iran is still a regional ballistic missile power, but an ICBM acquisition could be reached in the next five years.

It’s a Matter of Public Diplomacy

North Korean diplomats have visited Tehran to help the Iranians with negotiations with the United States and explain ways to evade U.S. and Western sanctions. North Korea and Iran love to work together to deter U.S. interests in the Middle East. The more the DPRK can erode American power in that region, the more likely that U.S. attention will be focused away from the Korean peninsula.

Kim Jong Un prefers to work with Iran because it makes the DPRK a significant member of the emerging Axis of Evil among Russia, North Korea, and Iran. Kim is legitimized by enhanced relations with Iran, and he is greatly satisfied with the success of his ballistic missile fleet, which shows that his engineers and designers are world-class.

Authoritarian Partnership Blossoms Between the Two Countries

Cho Sang-keun, a South Korean professor who analyzes military technology developments between the North and Iran, including the partnership of the DPRK and Russia, calls this arrangement the “authoritarian value chain.” All of these countries make out better when working together.

The Bottomline

Iran and North Korea must enjoy their relationship. It makes both states more robust and shows that both countries have designers and engineers who can compete with those in the United States, Israel, and Europe.

North Korea acquires more desperately needed hard currency, and the Iranians get a leg up militarily against Israel and Sunni rivals like Saudi Arabia. The missile technology from North Korea, as it spreads to Iran, could eventually be sent to Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The Iran and North Korea partnership is thus challenging to mitigate. It will take the best intelligence analysts from Israel and the United States to keep up with missile developments from both countries. And the partnership will make Israel’s efforts to counteract the Iranian missile program challenging. North Korean technology was likely used on missiles that could hit Israel. Indeed, 300 drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles targeted Israel in an attack earlier this year, and there was an Iranian strike on an Israeli air base on October 1. Nearly all missiles were shot down, but Pyongyang is taking notes on how to aid Iran better to make sure Tehran will be successful in future attempts.

About the Author

Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.