|
Trending Topics
|
High-Level Contacts between North Korea and Iran Hint at Deeper Military Cooperation
(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Jay Solomon - High-level meetings between North Korean and Iranian officials in recent months are stoking U.S. concerns of bilateral nuclear collaboration between the two American adversaries. Officials say both have already signaled a commitment to jointly develop their ballistic missile systems and other military-scientific programs. North Korea has vastly expanded its nuclear and long-range missile capabilities over the past year, developing intercontinental ballistic missiles that could potentially target the western U.S. with nuclear warheads. U.S. and South Korean intelligence services have tracked a steady stream of Iranian and North Korean officials visiting each other in a bid to jointly develop their defense systems. Iranian opposition groups allege that senior Iranian officials have visited North Korea to observe some of its six nuclear weapons tests.