North Korea has more than 200 engineers working in Iran on nuclear programs and missile development, according to a report in a Japanese newspaper.
Citing a source, the article in today’s Mainichi Shimbun claims, “The more than 200 engineers are divided between 12 locations including Natanz, where there are uranium enrichment facilities.”
“They carry passports in other names so as not to reveal their immigration records or movements,” it adds.
The newspaper alleges that since the export of weapons became more difficult in the face of UN sanctions in 2009, North Korea has instead been increasingly turning towards promoting its exports of military know-how, and claims that international surveillance is being strengthened in this area.
There was further indication that the sanctions regime has the ability to limit North Korea’s physical arms exports in reports earlier this month revealing that NATO naval forces patrolling the Indian Ocean recently stopped a ship carrying $15 million in North Korean surface-to-air missiles, rockets and explosives to Eritrea, which has itself been prohibited under UN Security Council Resolution 1907 from importing weapons since the end of 2009.
The ship allegedly docked at Singapore en route, making it harder to uncover its origin.
