S. Korea-Iran summit expected to put pressure on N. Korea

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• published: 02 May 2016
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한-이란 정상회담이 북한 비핵화에 주는 메세지 President Park Geun-hye's summit with her Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani comes after Tehran's landmark nuclear deal to curb its nuclear activities. The meeting is sure to turn up the pressure on North Korea, and some have wondered whether it could lead the regime to take the same path as Iran. Connie Kim turns to some experts for their analyses. President Park's visit to Iran is historic not only for the expected economic and diplomatic outcomes, experts are also predicting it will have an effect on Iran's ties with North Korea. "Economic cooperation is the main focus of their summit, but the fact that the two countries have amicable ties puts pressure on Pyongyang. Although Seoul and Tehran are starting with economic cooperation, they could share information on the security front as the relationship grows stronger." The summit underscores the opportunities presented by the landmark Iran nuclear deal,... but many experts doubt the Iran case could be applied to North Korea, given the fundamental differences between the two. "Iran is in the early stages of its nuclear weapons development. It has not conducted a nuclear test, while North Korea has conducted four. In addition, Iran has started developing its nuclear weapons program to become a leading power in the Middle East, while North Korea's motive is to survive in the international community." North Korea and Iran have well established ties. They have been providing each other with funds and technology for the development of weapons of mass destruction. In 2012, North Korea and Iran signed an agreement for technology and scientific cooperation, with Iran's missile experts reportedly helping the North successfully launch a long-range missile that year. A high-level Iranian delegation was reported to have observed North Korea's third nuclear test in 2013. Given that history,... it is clear the summit between South Korea and Iran -- and the closer relationship it signifies -- could pose a threat to the relationship Iran has with North Korea. And that's prompted concerns North Korea will show its discontent with the situation by conducting another nuclear test during President Park's stay in Iran. "If that happens, South Korea and the international community may have no choice but to go back to urging China to enforce the sanctions on North Korea and play a bigger role in pressuring North Korea to denuclearize. Connie Kim, Arirang News." Visit ‘Arirang News’ Official Pages Facebook(NEWS): http://www.facebook.com/newsarirang Homepage: http://www.arirang.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/arirangtv Twitter: http://twitter.com/arirangworld Instagram: http://instagram.com/arirangworld