Possible Monitoring of North Korea’s Weapons Technology for Iran’s Potential Attack on Israel by NIS

A member of the Israeli military stood alongside an Iranian ballistic missile that landed in Israel over the weekend, during a media tour at the Julis military base near the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Malachi on April 16. South Korea’s spy agency announced on Wednesday that it is closely monitoring whether North Korea’s weapons technology was utilized in the ballistic missiles launched by Iran against Israel last week. This comes after Iran fired over 300 drones and missiles at Israel on Saturday, leading some experts to speculate that North Korean parts or military technology may have been involved in Iran’s missile attacks, citing the historical military cooperation between Pyongyang and Tehran.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) stated, “We are keeping track of whether North Korean technology played a role in Iran’s ballistic missiles fired at Israel, given the historical missile collaboration between North Korea and Iran.” Pyongyang and Tehran have had close ties since establishing diplomatic relations in 1973, especially while facing international sanctions for their weapons programs. Both countries have been suspected of trading missile parts and technology, particularly during the Iran-Iraq war from 1980 to 1988.

In 2006, the chief commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards admitted that his country had acquired Scud-B and Scud-C missiles from North Korea during the war, but mentioned that Iran no longer relies on Pyongyang for assistance. A report from the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency in 2019 revealed that Iran’s Shahab-3 ballistic missiles were developed based on North Korea’s Rodong missiles. The Khorramshahr missile developed by Iran is also believed to be technically connected to North Korea’s Musudan missiles.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller expressed deep concerns on Tuesday regarding the long-presumed military collaboration between North Korea and Iran. In January, the NIS confirmed suspicions that North Korean-made weapons were being used by the Hamas militant group in its conflict with Israel, despite denials from Pyongyang regarding arms transactions.