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Iran–North Korea relations
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Iran–North Korea relations are described as being positive by official news agencies of the two countries. Diplomatic relations picked up following the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and the establishment of an Islamic Republic. Iran and North Korea pledge cooperation in educational, scientific, and cultural spheres, as well as cooperating in the nuclear program of Iran. The United States has been greatly concerned by North Korea''s arms deals with Iran, which started during the 1980s with North Korea acting as a third party in arms deals between the Communist bloc and Iran, as well as selling domestically produced weapons to Iran, and North Korea continues selling missile and nuclear technology to Iran. North Korea and Iran are the remaining two members of George W. Bush''s "Axis of evil," which has led to many of the concerns regarding Iran–North Korea relations.
The Iranian-North Korean partnership did undergo occasional tension, however. Despite the two countries'' shared antagonism to U.S. foreign policies, the specific national interests of the DPRK and the Islamic Republic of Iran were often considerably different from each other. For instance, North Korea, though it provided Iran with massive military assistance during the Iran-Iraq War (an act that induced Baghdad to break diplomatic relations with Pyongyang), made repeated attempts to normalize its relations with the Iraqi government. In 1982, the North Korean authorities secretly invited an Iraqi delegation to Pyongyang, but the Iraqi government sent only an unofficial representative. The talks ended in fiasco, but the fact that they occurred at all revealed that North Korea was reluctant to support Iran’s ideological crusade against Saddam Hussein to the hilt. The Iranian leaders, on their part, decided to maintain diplomatic relations with both North and South Korea, no matter whether the DPRK liked it or not. During the recent inter-Korean security crises (like the ROKS Cheonan sinking and the Bombardment of Yeonpyeong), Iranian news agencies usually quoted the statements of the Korean Central News Agency in parallel with the statements made by Western and South Korean politicians, without showing any detectable preference for either side.
- 1 Ambassadors
- 1.1 List of North Korean ambassadors to Iran
- 1.2 List of Iranian ambassadors to North Korea
- 1.3 Others
- 2 Military weapons
- 3 See also
- 4 References
Ambassadors List of North Korean ambassadors to Iran
- Kim Jong-nam (appointed 7 November 2000)
- Kim Chang-ryong (appointed 8 January 2004)
List of Iranian ambassadors to North Korea
- Mohammad Ganjidoost (until 23 February 2001)
- Jalaleddin Namini Mianji
- Ri Won Il, chairman of the DPRK-Iran Friendship Association
- Anoushiravan Mohseni Bandpei, chairman of the Iran-Korea Parliamentary Friendship Group
Since the 1980s North Korea has become known as a reliable supplier of arms to other countries including Iran. Weapons sales between North Korea and Iran increased significantly during the Iran-Iraq war. This weapons sale relationship has expanded into further military cooperation including in the development of and exchange of nuclear technology. This relationship has also involved Syria.
During the Persian Gulf War North Korea is said to have supplied Iran with a range of arms including artillery, anti-aircraft machine guns, mortars, ammunition, tanks, small arms, naval mines and anti-tank and surface-to-air missile systems. In December 2009, in contravention of an arms embargo imposed on North Korea, a shipment of North Korean arms, said to be headed for Iran, according to the Congressional Research Service, was intercepted in Thailand. These weapons included rocket launchers and surface-to-air missile parts.
In addition to weapons, North Korea and Iran have an active exchange of military expertise particularly in relation to special operations and underground facilities. North Korea is thought to have trained Iranian operators in these advanced infiltration techniques.
In March 2013 North Korea and Iran, as well as Syria, blocked a UN Arms Trade Treaty aimed at setting "standards for all cross-border transfers of conventional weapons".
Tags:Axis of evil, Baghdad, Bush, Communist, Congressional Research Service, George W. Bush, Iran, Iran – North Korea relations, Iran-Iraq, Iran-Iraq War, Iranian, Iranian Revolution, Iraq, Iraqi, Islamic, Islamic Republic, Islamic Republic of Iran, Korea, North Korea, North Korean, Persian, Persian Gulf, Persian Gulf War, Pyongyang, Revolution, Saddam, Saddam Hussein, South Korea, South Korean, Syria, Thailand, United States, Wikipedia