North Korea's No. 2 official visits Iran for 10 days

North Korea's Supreme Council Chairman began a 10-day visit to Iran on August 3, a move that could help the two countries expand cooperation.

Chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea Kim Yong Nam. Photo: CBS News.

North Korea's Supreme Council Chairman Kim Yong Nam, the country's second most powerful official, arrived in Iran to attend the inauguration of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani yesterday, the IRNA news agency confirmed.

However, with the news that the head of North Korea's parliament is expected to stay in Iran for 10 days, experts believe the trip also has other purposes, including expanding military cooperation.

"There's a curious cooperation going on, both because of its history and because of its strategic significance, especially with regard to Iran," said Emily Landau, a senior fellow at the Israel-based Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), an independent think tank affiliated with Tel Aviv University, told CNBC.

According to Matthew Bunn, professor of the John F. Kennedy School of Public Administration, Harvard University, and nuclear proliferation expert, both North Korea and Iran feel a serious threat from the United States and the West. Although they are very different countries, they face similar situations.

The two countries could aim to “expand missile cooperation,” Mr. Bunn said. “In fact, Iran’s first-generation missiles are believed to be roughly modeled after North Korean missiles.”

Professor Bunn is not sure whether there is any nuclear cooperation between North Korea and Iran, but he says it is "a really dangerous possibility."

The United Nations Security Council has imposed new sanctions on North Korea that could cut the country's export revenue by a third.The US-drafted resolution bans North Korean exports of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood. It also prohibits countries from increasing the number of North Korean laborers working abroad, bans new joint ventures with North Korea and new investments in existing joint ventures.

According to VNE