Iran Tied To North Korea’s Missiles- WMDs

Widely circulating reports say U.S. intelligence has confirmed Iran as a major backer of North Korea’s missile exports. According to the reports the Teheran regime was and presumably is financing and facilitating North Korean exports of ballistic missiles and related systems. Last week a North Korean ship named Kang Nam 1 after chugging through the South China sea and being shadowed by a US Navy destroyer turned tail and headed back to its North Korea port.

North Korea has established Iranian fronts, one of them identified as Hong Kong Electronics, to conceal missile contracts by Pyongyang.

In a separate story on June 30, 2009 the US Treasury department announced a freeze of Hong Kong Electronics assets and designated it a proliferator of weapons of mass destruction and prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in any transactions with them, thereby isolating them from the U.S. financial and commercial systems.  Hong Kong Electronics, is reportedly located in Kish Island, Iran, and has been designated for providing support to North Korea’s Tanchon Commercial Bank (Tanchon) and Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation (KOMID).

“North Korea uses this front company and others for a range of other deceptive practices to obscure the true nature of its financial dealings, making it nearly impossible for responsible banks and governments to distinguish legitimate from illegitimate North Korean transactions,” Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levey said.

On June 30, Treasury imposed sanctions on the Iranian-based Hong Kong Electronics. The decision would freeze any U.S. assets of Hong Kong and prevent Americans from doing business with the firm.

“Today’s action is a part of our overall effort to prevent North Korea from misusing the international financial system to advance its nuclear and missile programs and to sell dangerous technology around the world,” Levey said.

Officials said Hong Kong Electronics, located on the Iranian island of Kish, was supporting North Korea’s Tanchon Commercial Bank and Korea Mining Development Trading Corp. Both North Korean companies, said to play a major role in Pyongyang’s missile program, have been under sanctions by the United States and the United Nations. Kish (Persian: کیش) is a resort island in the Persian Gulf. It is part of the Hormozgān Province of Iran. Due to its free trade zone status it is touted as a consumer’s paradise. It has about 20,000 permanent residents and is visited by 5.5 million mostly from the region. For some while Iran has been pouring money into Kish for the purpose of making it competetive with Dubai as a tourist destination.

North Korea has been deemed the leading foreign supplier of Iran’s ballistic missile program. Officials said Iran has been directly financing North Korea’s missile program and exports since at least 2005.

Tanchon, with extensive ties to Iran’s Bank Sepah, was said to have financed the sales of ballistic missiles for KOMID. Officials said Tahnchon was also involved in financing North Korean missiles sales to Iran.

“Tanchon has also been involved in financing ballistic missile sales from KOMID to Iran’s Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, which is the Iranian organization responsible for developing liquid-fueled missiles,” Treasury said. “The U.S. has reason to believe that the Tanchon-Bank Sepah relationship has been used for North Korea-Iran proliferation-related transactions.”

Since 2007, Hong Kong Electronics has transferred millions of dollars of proliferation- related funds on behalf of Tanchon and KOMID, officials said. They said Hong Kong Electronics has also facilitated funds from Iran to North Korea on behalf of KOMID.

“Tanchon, a commercial bank based in Pyongyang, North Korea, is the financial arm for KOMID - North Korea’s premier arms dealer and main exporter of goods and equipment related to ballistic missiles and conventional weapons,” Treasury said. “Tanchon plays a key role in financing the sales of ballistic missiles for KOMID.”