North Korea shipped No Dong missile to Syria in late 2006
LONDON — Syria procured an intermediate-range missile from North Korea in a deal financed by Iran.
Western intelligence sources said Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime has acquired the No Dong ballistic missile from Pyongyang. The sources said the No Dong, believed to have arrived in Syria in late 2006, was financed through Iran, which also acquired the surface-to-surface weapon.
"Virtually every major deal has been financed by Iran," an intelligence source said. "Iran procures advanced combat systems from China, North Korea and Russia and provides Syria with some of the weapons."
Iran based its Shihab-3 missile on the No Dong and later extended the Shihab's range to 2,000 kilometers, Middle East Newsline reported.
The sources said Syria ordered the No Dong after a North Korean demonstration in 2006. The North Korean firing demonstrated the missile's capabilities as well as integration into command and control systems.
The No Dong was said to have a range of up to 1,200 kilometers.
The sources said Iran and North Korea could have established a No Dong-based missile facility in northeastern Syrian near the Iraqi border.
On Sept. 6, Israeli F-15I fighter-jets were said to have struck an unidentified strategic facility outside Dair el Zor near Iraq.
