Long-range missile parts have been found in some of the 145 crates containing weapons from North Korea that were seized at a Thai airport Saturday, Reuters reported on Wednesday. The Taepodong-2 components were part of some 40 tons of arms whose destination is as yet unknown.
| There's No Dong in Thailand ... |
A Thai security official claimed experts believe the weapons were headed to Iran, which has bought arms from North Korea in the past. Security experts say North Korea's Taepodong-2s, which have a maximum range of 6,700 km, were developed jointly with Iran's Shahab 5 and 6 long-range missiles. North Korea test-fired similar missiles in July 2006 and last April. The first test failed when the missile blew up 40 seconds after launch, while in the second it traveled around 3,000 km.
| Hardly seems that the Sudanese need a Taepodong; they don't need to reach out and touch anyone like that. So these missile parts were headed to Iran, or maybe Syria. |
Meanwhile, the Japanese daily Sankei Shimbun on Dec. 8 claimed North Korea was aiding Iran's development of a cruise missile. An unnamed diplomatic source claimed North Korea and Iran had disassembled and were jointly studying a Soviet-era KH55 cruise missile imported from Ukraine. The missile under development is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and could lead to technological improvements in Middle Eastern and North Korean missile technologies, the unnamed official claimed.
The U.S. accuses Iran of pursuing a secret nuclear weapons program and is believed to have purchased a Taepodong-1 missile from North Korea in the past with a maximum range of 2,500 km. During a test launch in 1998, it flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean. |