Indian officials quietly prevented a North Korean aircraft from flying to Iran in August, possibly stopping a WMD or missile shipment, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday (see GSN, March 4).
(Nov. 3) -
Iran has purchased North Korean missiles in the past, officials said (Behrouz Mehri/Getty Images).
The decision to deny Indian airspace to a North Korean cargo aircraft was coordinated through the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative, according to officials familiar with the incident. The program aims to stop WMD smuggling, although most publicized exercises have involved seaborne cargo.
The Aug. 7 incident involved an airplane, operated by North Korea’s state airline, which had stopped in Myanmar and had requested to fly through Indian airspace to Iran, a Western official said.
The official did not identify the suspected cargo, but offered, “North Korea has been supplying missiles to Iran and Syria for some time.”
After initially granting the airspace permission, Indian officials reversed course and the flight was not completed, the Journal reported (Wall Street Journal, Nov. 1).