Was This Week's North Korean Nuclear Test Also An Iranian One?

Why Iran Already Has The Bomb -- Lee Smith, Tablet

If North Korea has the bomb, as this week’s nuclear test indicated, then for all practical purposes, so does Iran

The White House and President Obama’s supporters insist that he’s making his first trip to Israel next month to assure the Jewish state that if push comes to shove with Iran, he’ll have Israel’s back. But North Korea’s nuclear test Tuesday morning could indicate that it’s already too late for that. If North Korea has the bomb, then for all practical purposes Iran does, too. If that’s so, then Obama’s policy of prevention has failed, and containment—a policy that the president has repeatedly said is not an option—is in fact all Washington has.

If this sounds hyperbolic, consider the history of extensive North Korean-Iranian cooperation on a host of military and defense issues, including ballistic missiles and nuclear development, that dates back to the 1980s. This cooperation includes North Korean sales of technology and arms, like the BM-25, a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and reaching Western Europe; Iran’s Shahab 3 missile is based on North Korea’s Nodong-1 and is able to reach Israel. Iran has a contigent of Iranian weapons engineers and defense officials stationed in North Korea. Meantime, North Korean scientists visit Iran. And last fall, both countries signed a memorandum of understanding regarding scientific, academic, and technological issues.

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My Comment: Iranian - North Korean relations have been close for years .... has this been translated into the exchange of technology .... specifically missile and nuclear technology .... that is a question that is probably keeping policy makers awake at night.

Update: Inspections? Iran May Already Have a Bomb -- Jonathan S. Tobin, Commentary