Gee if only the Muslim Brotherhood could get a toe-hold in North Korea, then Dear Leader Obama would have someone to run guns to (via South Korea). What is he going to do now?
I argued back in January that North Korea and Iran were working jointly on missile and nuclear development.
I give DEBKAfile a roughly sixty percent credibility rating, but it reported today that
There is full awareness in Washington and Jerusalem that the North Korean nuclear test conducted Tuesday, Feb. 12, brings Iran that much closer to conducting a test of its own. A completed bomb or warhead are not necessary for an underground nuclear test; a device which an aircraft or missile can carry is enough.I don't agree with the thesis that Iran's likelihood of conducting a nuclear test soon is likely to have been advanced by the NK test. They seem to be working very well together and if, as seems likely, Iran will share in any technical information garnered from the NK test, it would have little incentive to go forward with its own, particularly if that would mean more international problems including additional sanctions. Indeed, it would not surprise me if Iran were to limit its own Uranium enrichment and "outsource" that work to NK.Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s boast this week that Iran will soon place a satellite in orbit at an altitude of 36,000 kilometers – and Tehran’s claim on Feb. 4 to have sent a monkey into space – highlight Iran’s role in the division of labor Pyongyang and Tehran have achieved in years of collaboration: the former focusing on a nuclear armament and the latter on long-range missile technology to deliver it.
Their advances are pooled. Pyongyang maintains a permanent mission of nuclear and missile scientists in Tehran, whereas Iranian experts are in regular attendance at North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests.
Since the detonation of the “miniature atomic bomb” reported by Pyongyang Tuesday – which US President Barack Obama called “a threat to US National security”- Iran must be presumed to have acquired the same “miniature atomic bomb” capabilities – or even assisted in the detonation.
It could be argued that China might take NK to the woodshed. It will probably make noise, agree with more sanctions and then ignore them at least as to luxury goods (which seem to be the most important to NK) as it has done previously.
NK has displayed some pique at China, and it was reported a couple of days ago that news from Chinese sources, a principal feature of NK television, has been largely missing of late. Still, China has a great interest in stability in NK and has no interest in massive floods of undocumented illegal immigrants crossing its borders.