Nuclear Terrorism For Sale

Kim’s missile supermarket: North Korea will sell nukes to anyone — even ISIS

NORTH Korea is running an international nuke supermarket and will even sell to ISIS jihadis if they can stump up the cash.

GETTYUNHOLY ALLIANCE: North Korea has shown its willingness to sell missile technology to anyone Multiple missile tests have been ordered by Kim Jong-un in recent months in a bid to boost the range of his rockets.The defiant North Korean also detonated a hydrogen bomb in January and restarted the Yongbyon nuclear reactor.

And now it’s feared he’s becoming the arms dealer of choice for the world’s rogue nations and terrorists.

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FIRED UP: North Korea’s Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center has reopened

“North Korea has a long record of sponsoring terrorism worldwide”

Kyle Orton

Kyle Orton, a security analyst focused on the Middle East, said the North had even tried to sell to Saddam Hussein in the past.

On the eve of the Iraq invasion, the Iraqi dictator was offered not just Rodong missiles — but the tech necessary to make more at home.

Mr Orton told Daily Star Online: “Since then, North Korea has been shown to have very deep links, on nuclear and other weaponry, with Iran.

“The North Korean regime will sell anything to anybody who has the cash. They would doubtless sell missiles and anything else to ISIS if they had the money.”

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Amid reports that Kim Jong-un is paying mercenaries to unleash terror attacks, it’s further speculated that ISIS could offer the North hired muscle.

“The alliance between North Korea and Iran shows that divergent ideologies are no barrier to cooperation for Islamists,” said Mr Orton.”In the case of the Islamic State, they have worked with ostensible adversaries before in order to further their cause.”

Murderous Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was among those ISIS had worked with, he said, when planning attacks on rival forces.

GETTYCOOPERATING: Mr Orton said ISIS has been working with Bashar al-Assad’s murderous regime Thankfully, the onslaught against Daesh has cut its territory by half, stripped it of numerous oil facilities and slashed its income.So North Korea’s missiles are probably too pricey for the cash-strapped terror group right now — even if Kim Jong-un remains happy to trade.

Nor is there an obvious overlap currently between the two sides’ interests, with North Korea focused on its southern neighbour.

But Mr Orton said an alliance between Islamism and North Korea remained possible while there were “common Western enemies”.

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TERRIFYING: South Koreans were particularly alarmed by the hydrogen bomb test in January

He continued: “North Korea has a long record of sponsoring terrorism across the world, usually through proxies.”This could be organised crime or pre-existing paramilitary groups, or supplying resources to terrorists.

“Yet there is unlikely to be a confluence of interests that sees ISIS conduct terrorism for North Korea.”

North Korea was listed by the US as a state sponsor of terrorism until 2008, when it negotiated its removal from the list.