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| Korea |
| North Korea has delivered 400 ballistic missile to Mideast |
| 2003-10-28 |
| The South Korean Defense Ministry told parliament in a report that Pyongyang delivered 400 Scud-class missiles to a range of Middle East countries since 1985. The report said the missile export constituted the largest source of hard currency for the Stalinist regime. "But they’re our friends, honest! They’re just misunderstood. If we were more conciliatory I’m sure we could get along!" The report said the best clients of North Korea were Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. The report did not say how much Pyongyang earned from the exports. But the Yonhap News Agency said the figure was $110 million. Yep, the Yemenis needs Scuds. Right missile for their situation: their putative enemies have nothing for hundreds of miles around them, and the Scud is perfect for hitting nothing. In 2002, North Korea sold $60 million worth of Scud missiles and missile parts to Iraq, Iran, Syria and Yemen, Middle East Newsline reported. The report said Pyongyang also sold Pakistan, Syria and Yemen $30 million worth of missile technology in 1999. The combined figure for 2001 was $20 million in 2001. "Since the middle of the 1980s, North Korea has exported 400-odd Scud missiles along with missile-related parts to the Middle East region," Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Ki-Beom, quoting the report, said. Most of those 400 were odd, too. Thank you, thank you, I’m here all week. Analysts said the North Korean delivery of 15 Scud B and Scud C missile systems in December 2002 was a major reason for the sharp increase in revenues for Pyongyang. The missile shipment was seized by a Spanish war vessel and after Yemeni threats was ordered released by the United States. Wonder if the Yemenis would have had to pay if the Spanish had sunk that ship instead? North Korean missile revenues for 2003, the analysts said, were expected to match or exceed those reported for last year. The analysts cited increased North Korean missile cooperation with Iran. The report did not seem to reveal significant additional information already found in previous South Korean studies on the North’s missile exports. In 2002, a South Korean report asserted that Pyongyang sold $500 million worth of missiles to Middle East clients since the mid-1980s. North Korea has exported such missiles as the Scud B and C to Syria and Yemen as well as the No-Dong medium-range missile to Iran. Pyongyang was also said by South Korea to have transferred missile technology to Egypt and Libya. [whistling] "Oh I’m making a list, checking it twice ..." |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #3 Nice to see that someone in the SKor Govt isn't asleep at the wheel and "torn" by internal doubt. So, now I guess the whole world wants to know: What's the Pfrench position on this? Dominique? |
| Posted by: .com 2003-10-28 1:25:55 PM |
| #2 They sold SCUDS to Iraq? Somebody broke the UN embargo. |
| Posted by: Charles 2003-10-28 10:01:35 AM |
| #1 I expect that we'll find that Yemen is just retailing the scuds. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-10-28 9:49:00 AM |