Does Iran Have A Secret Nuclear Cooperation Agreement With North Korea?

North Korea Deputy Foreign Minister meets with Iran's Ambassador to North Korea
Photo from IRNA

Gorodn G. Chang, Daily Beast: Does Iran Have Secret Nukes in North Korea?

Washington’s nuclear deal with Tehran depends on aggressive inspections inside Iran. But the mullahs may well have a secret program outside their borders.

In October 2012, Iran began stationing personnel at a military base in North Korea, in a mountainous area close to the Chinese border. The Iranians, from the Ministry of Defense and associated firms, reportedly are working on both missiles and nuclear weapons. Ahmed Vahidi, Tehran’s minister of defense at the time, denied sending people to the North, but the unconfirmed dispatches make sense in light of the two states announcing a technical cooperation pact the preceding month.

The P5+1—the five permanent members of the Security Council and Germany—appear determined, before their self-imposed March 31 deadline, to ink a deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding its nuclear energy program, which is surely a cover for a wide-ranging weapons effort. The international community wants the preliminary arrangement now under discussion, referred to as a “framework agreement,” to ensure that the country remains at least one year away from being able to produce an atomic device.

WNU Editor: Talk of an Iran - North Korean nuclear connection has been around for a very long time .... Did North Korea Test A Nuclear Warhead For Iran? There is more here. Interestingly .... as these Iranian talks continue, some are now commenting that the U.S. should engage with North Korea on its nuclear program using the Iranian talks as a template. What is my take .... there is no reason to trust Iran .... and there is definitely no reason to trust North Korea ... but it will not surprise me if after Iran the White House will then focus on North Korea.