Where Would Iran be in This War Without North Korea? | Ep. 33

North Korea spent decades building the missile, conventional, and underground infrastructure now on display in Iran's arsenal, with dividends flowing in both directions, KEI’s latest guest on Eye on Korea argues.

Bruce Bechtol joins KEI President & CEO Scott Snyder to map what he sees as the North Korea-Iran axis and its implications for the U.S.-South Korea alliance.

This episode digs into Bechtol's account of North Korean support for Iran's missile program—including liquid-fuel systems, underground facilities, and conventional weapons—and what he believes the ongoing war reveals about North Korea’s arsenal. Bechtol explains why he believes the United States is neglecting the North Korea-Iran axis and why he views Pyongyang's relationship with Hezbollah as more sophisticated than its ties to Hamas.

The conversation widens to North Korea's broader footprint: Bechtol’s assessment of the fall of the Assad regime in Syria for North Korea’s operations in the Middle East, his estimate of how much North Korea is making off Russia's war in Ukraine in cash, oil, and technology, and what costs he believes Kim Jong Un would bear if there were regime change in Tehran. The episode closes with Bechtol's biggest takeaways from North Korea's most recent ICBM and weapons tests.

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