NUKE-mad North Korea is arming Iran and its bloodthirsty proxies to the teeth while the West remains remains blind.
The sanctions regime against the Hermit Kingdom has fallen apart leaving Kim Jong-un to fuel Iran’s bloody fight against Israel.
One expert now says the only thing limiting Pyongyang supplying Tehran with weapons is how fast they can make them.
Professor Justin Hastings at the University of Sydney said that if Iran was buying weapons, North Korea was selling.
Hastings said any sanctions now only existed “on paper” as Russia and China “no longer cooperate” with them.
And it was “no problem” for Pyongyang if Tehran passed the arms on to its proxies like Hezbollah.
He said North Korea wanted to “strengthen” countries that were hostile to the US and South Korea by selling them weapons.
“But I think the larger reason is because they want to make money.
“You can imagine that Iran might be interested in in buying more weapons from North Korea.”
And he said North Korea is now finding it “easier” than ever to move them not having to engage in highly covert smuggling.
He said: “Now, because of the lack of sanctions enforcement, they’re increasingly safer [to trade] and the supply of money is likely to be more stable.
“It can now ship them directly through China, or ship them through Russia, and no one will basically sort of pay attention to how they’re getting there.”
The expert North Korea’s only limitation might only be how much they can actually produce, how fast they could do it, and what expertise they were willing to share.
North Korean RPGs were used by Hamas in their murderous October 7 terror attack, VOA Korean Service reported.
Weapons found in Israel showed they had Korean writing on the ignition device for the F-7 RPG, photos released by the IDF showed.
Since then, the IDF has found “tens of thousands” more of North Korean-supplied explosives.
North Korea is banned from selling weapons by strict UN-backed sanctions.
But it has traded missile secrets with Iran for decades.
Iran purchased Scud B and Scud C missiles from North Korea in the 1980s,
And the missile technology is helping Iran in its fight with Israel today.
Dr Bruce Bechtol, professor of security studies and criminal justice at Angelo State University, said there was “no doubt” the North Korean missile designs had been used by Iran.
Iran’s Shahab-3 medium range missile and Mususdan ballistic missile are based on the North Korean NoDong, he said.
Iran fired those missiles at Israel in April, but many failed to launch or were shot down by Israel.
And Iran could be set to launch more of them, as it is expected to launch a revenge strike following Israeli assassinations.
Bechtol said that North Korean help was “vital” to Hezbollah and described current trade with Iran as “robust”.
The regime has sold chemical weapon components and even provided expert assistance on building chemical weapons.
He said: “North Korea plays an important role in supporting – both directly and indirectly – one of Iran’s key proxy benefactors in its ongoing war to be the hegemon in the Middle East.”
Previously trade out of North Korea had to be smuggled through covert methods that changed every few months.
Cargo ships a physically modified to change their look, attached with spoofing location beacons, and are registered under different countries flags.
In 2009, Thai authorities seized a shipment of 35 tons of weapons from North Korea destined for Iran in a cargo plane that had to make an emergency landing in Bangkok.
But a new report says the freer trade could see North Korea making more weapons to fill the terror state orders.
Conversely, it will be easier for the country to import nuke tech for its energy and weapon programmes.
The report by Dr Daniel Salisbury said the collapse of sanctions said the deepening trade networks would be “bountiful” for North Korea.
Kim uses his oversees diplomats to procure the items the country needs for the weapon programmes.
In 2018, a senior German intelligence source noted that the North Korean embassy in Berlin was being used for WMD-related procurement, CNN reported.
Kim will be able to get more niche technology that isn’t even made in China and Russia by using established covert means to import the tech to those countries from makers like the US and Germany.
North Korea and Iran met in Dubai for trade talks in April, Reuters reported.
But as North Korea’s trade routes grow, rogue states of the world the West won’t lie down.
South Korea’s spy agency is reportedly “keeping tabs” on whether the North is supplying missile tech to Iran.
By Katie Davis
KIM Jong-un showcased his deadly hypersonic missiles that are feared to be able to strike US bases in minutes in 2019.
He vowed to build North Korea’s nuclear arsenal at its “fastest pace”.
The tyrant threatened to use his nuclear forces if provoked as he delivered a speed during a huge military parade that featured the state’s most powerful weapons systems.
It comes as Pyongyang has stepped up weapons tests and displays of military power amid stalled denuclearisation talks with the United States and an incoming conservative administration in South Korea.
US and South Korean officials say there are signs of new construction at North Korea‘s only nuke test site – which has been officially shuttered since 2018.
Satellite images by Maxar from March appeared to show repair work happening at the Punggye-ri site, which may suggest Pyongyang could be preparing to resume testing nuclear weapons.
“The nuclear forces of our Republic should be fully prepared to fulfil their responsible mission and put their unique deterrent in motion at any time,” Kim told the parade, according to state news agency KCNA.
