Iran obtains the necessary technology to assemble long-range ballistic missile systems from North Korea

Department of Research and Strategic Security Studies 25-04-2024

Where did the Iranians acquire the technology needed to assemble long-range ballistic missile systems?

The answer is undoubtedly North Korea:

Based on images and descriptions from the region, many of the missiles used in the attacks are what Tehran calls “Emad”.

It is a medium-range ballistic missile based on the NoDong missile, which itself is nothing more than a version of the North Korean Nodong missile.

The range of the “Shahab-3” (NoDong) missile is between 1300 and 1500 kilometers, but “Emad” has a range of about 1700 kilometers, allowing it to target Israel.

North Koreans conducted a live test of the NoDong missile for Iran and Pakistan in 1993. After the test, both Tehran and Islamabad requested dozens of these missiles and their launch platforms.

Later, at Tehran’s request, North Korea built a manufacturing facility for the NoDong – now called “Shahab 3” in Iran. However, the Iranians still need technical support and missile parts they now produce locally.

Once the Shahab 3 missile was integrated into Iran’s ballistic missile force, the Iranians almost immediately began working on a later missile based on the same design but with a longer range.

Thus, “Emad” was born, which Iran introduced publicly as a new long-range missile in 2015.

Iran claims that the Emad system has been successfully tested with a range of up to 1700 kilometers, and the missile that landed near the Dead Sea in Israel may prove that.

According to the Iranians, the “Emad” missile is much more accurate than other missiles in Tehran’s arsenal. However, this has not been proven.

Although this system is uniquely Iranian, there is no doubt that North Koreans assisted in extending the missile’s range. But even if they didn’t, “Emad” is nothing more than an enhanced version of “Shahab 3”.

Since “Shahab 3” is a version of the original “Nodong” missiles sent by North Korea to Iran, this means that the Iranians carried out their attack in April using missiles that could target Israel, thanks to North Korean assistance.

Why isn’t North Korea’s clear contribution to enhancing Iran’s capability to attack Israel receiving more attention?

We’ve seen some somewhat inaccurate analyses on this topic as well. For example, one prominent analyst stated that he “saw no evidence of any exchange between North Korea and Iran regarding missile technology in recent years.”

While another said, “I believe North Korea is in a position where they can help solve a problem… North Korea has significantly increased the accuracy of its ballistic missiles over the past decade and a half.”

These assessments are certainly incorrect. In fact, North Korea has collaborated with Iran in recent years to develop an 80-ton thrust missile.

The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Iran for this activity in 2016, while continuous cooperation between North Korea and Iran was documented by a team of UN experts in 2021. The “Hwasong-15” missile purchased by Iran from North Korea possesses this capability.

There are two main concerns here:

The first concern:

The risk of nuclear proliferation remains high, as no sanctions have been imposed and no actions have been taken to slow the spread of military weapons in North Korea.

We have seen North Korean missiles, artillery, and ballistic missiles used by the Russians. Hamas has used anti-tank weapons, missiles, and tunnel-building capabilities provided by Pyongyang in the past six months. Now, we see North Korean ballistic missile technology and capabilities used by Iran to target Israel.

The second concern:

The second concern is that Iran may be upgrading its systems. “Pyongyang” tested a solid-fueled medium-range ballistic missile in recent months. Moreover, not only do North Koreans have an extremely accurate replica of the Russian Iskander system, but they have also now deployed dozens of these systems to the Russians themselves to use against Ukraine.

The Iskander missile is a short-range ballistic missile, so Iranian forces would need to get very close to Israel to launch it – or persuade one of its proxies to use it.

These enhancements and other potential upgrades to Iran’s ballistic missile forces significantly amplify the threat posed by Tehran. As Israeli missile expert Tal Inbar says, “If you see it in North Korea today, you’ll see it in Iran tomorrow.”