'Iran-North Korea Cooperation May Sabotage Nuclear Deal'

Growing cooperation between Iran and North Korea suggests that Tehran may develop a nuclear weapon with support from Pyongyang despite ongoing negotiations with the P5+1. Accordingly, the United States must seek to prohibit any form of nuclear cooperation between the two regimes as part of a final nuclear agreement, and challenge their broader goal of undermining U.S. global leadership.

The 30-year relationship between Tehran and Pyongyang reflects both shared interests and shared opposition to the United States and its allies. Iran seeks, and North Korea possesses, nuclear weapons in part to challenge U.S. influence and authority. Moreover, as Iran’s key supplier of ballistic missile technology since the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, Pyongyang has relied on Tehran for a major portion of its hard currency.

The relationship has evolved over time. As North Korea analyst John S. Park observes, “What started as a transactional relationship, where Iran provided much-needed cash to North Korea in return for missile parts and technology, has evolved into an increasingly effective partnership.” Today, the two countries seek to advance not only ballistic missile sales, but also a common strategic goal. North Korean deputy foreign minister Pak Kil Yon said during a 2011 visit to Iran that the two countries lie in “one trench” against “arrogant powers.” Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told North Korean leader Kim Yong Nam the following year that the two nations have “common enemies.”