Iranian Experts in North Korea for Missile Launch
15 Iranian missile experts arrived in North Korea early March to help the Stalinist country preparing ithe launch of its long-range missile, dubbed a “communications satellite,” which the Japanese are threatening to intercept if it crosses into their airspace. The group arrived in early March, bringing with them a letter from President Ahmadinejad to Kim Jong-Il “stressing the importance of cooperating on space technology.” The report says that senior members of the Iranian company Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, which produces rockets and satellites, are included in the group. That company has been sanctioned by the U.S. for taking part in Iran’s own missile program.
There have been quite a few reports of this sort of cooperation in the past. When North Korea tested its nuclear device, the Iranians were present. The high-level Iranian defector, Ali Reza Asghari, says that Iran financed North Korea’s participation in Syria’s nuclear weapons program. To me, it’s clear that the programs of Iran, North Korea, Syria, and soon, several others, are inter-connected.
North Korea says they will launch it between April 4 and 8.
