North Korea exported ballistic missiles on more than 500 occasions between 1987 and 2009, according to a report by the U.S. Congressional Research Service. The figure was cited by Jonathan Pollack, a Northeast Asia expert at the conservative Brookings Institution, at a seminar hosted by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.A total of 420 cases of ballistic missiles export were reported between 1987 and 1993, 30 cases between 1994 and 2000, and 60 from 2001 to 2009. Pollack said North Korea exported missiles to Syria, Iran, Egypt, Pakistan, Libya, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
He said North Korea is an important source of the missile trade, because it acquires technology from various sources, develops its own missiles, and exports them to other nations. He called it the most important supplier of ballistic missiles for Iran and Syria. The North is also suspected of selling missiles to Burma.
A South Korean government official said, "We believe that North Korea has earned a huge amount of money from exporting missiles, with scud missiles costing at least US$1 million each."