The U.S. and South Korea believe Iranian missile experts secretly entered North Korea recently and are staying near the North's rocket launch pad in Tongchang-ri.North Korea apparently invited Iranian missile experts to help with technical problems after the previous rocket launch in April failed.
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In 1987, Iran imported 100 Scud-B missiles with a range of 300 km and 12 mobile launch vehicles from North Korea and used them against Iraq.
Since then, North Korea has exported Scud-C (1992) and Rodong missiles (1994) to Iran and also dispatched experts to Iran in 1990 to help it build its own missile manufacturing plant. In 1997, the North provided computer software to Iran to produce Rodong missiles.
Experts believe Iran's Shahab-3 was based on North Korea's Rodong missile, which has a range of 1,300 km, while the Shahab-5 and Shahab-6 were modeled after the North's Taepodong-2 missile. Iran succeeded in putting satellites into orbit in February 2009 and February this year using rockets based on the Shahab missile.
Iran is now apparently returning the favors. "Iran obtained missile technology not only from China and Russia but also from Western countries such as Germany and the U.K.," said one rocket expert at a state-run research institute here. "All that missile technology ended up in North Korean hands."
A Defense Ministry official here said tight sanctions from the international community prompted North Korea to test a ballistic missile in Iran.