Iran-North Korea Nuclear Timeline (Update)

Iran & North Korea Economic Sanctions Timeline
Dear Policymaker/ Iran and North Korea Observer:

Since the announcement that China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the High Representative of the European
Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (known under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action as the E3/EU+3) had reach an agreement with the Iranian regime over its
nuclear activities, expert comparisons have been made between this approach to Iran and the Six-Party Agreement on North Korea. These parallels are not unfounded.
On October 18, 1994 when President Bill Clinton announced the agreement with North Korea, he argued it represented the first step on the road to a nuclear-free
Korean Peninsula and that the agreement would make the United States, the Korean Peninsula, and the world safer. President Clinton emphasized that the agreement did not
rely on trust. Compliance will be certified by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Similarly on Iran, President Barack Obama said on July 14, 2015: the comprehensive long-term deal would prevent [Iran] from obtaining a nuclear weapon. It
marks a change that makes our country and the world safer and more secure, he added. This deal is not built on trust. It is built on verification.
Two years ago, it appeared the Obama Administration was focused on avoiding mistakes made by its predecessors. In February 2013, Secretary of State Kerry
underscored the need for a swift, clear, strong and credible response" to Pyongyang's third nuclear test and the authoritarian regime's "continued flaunting of its obligations or
risk emboldening Iran. He added: "Just as it's impermissible for North Korea to pursue this kind of reckless effort, so we have said it's impermissible with respect to Iran. What
our response is with respect to this will have an impact on all other nonproliferation efforts." It would appear the response to North Korean aggression was prologue to the JCPOA
with Iran.
To provide context for, and to assist policymakers in their oversight responsibilities and in developing a response to, the multiparty agreement with Iran that avoids
repeating the mistakes that led to a nuclear North Korea as well as a weakened global nonproliferation structure, the independent analysts at Poblete Analysis Group have
developed the following timeline. It summarizes and juxtaposes developments on Iran and North Koreas nuclear paths for quick reference. Also included, is a December 26,
2014 summary document on the U.S. approach to Pyongyang.
We hope you find this useful.

2015 Poblete Analysis Group LLC
Alexandria, Virginia
www.pobleteanalysisgroup.com
This product is for informational purposes only. It was not petitioned or funded by any third parties.
North Korea
Iran
2015
Technical - Nuclear
April 29 - A report from David Albright and Serena Kelleher-Vergantini at Washington's Institute for Science and
International Security analyzed satellite imagry taken from January through the beginning of April 2015. The
imagry suggests that a centrifuge plant at the Yongbyon nuclear complex is operational, and a plutonium-fueled
reactor at the site may be operating again at low power or intermittently.
April 22 -In a closed-door meeting with U.S. nuclear specialists, the Wall Street Journal reports that China's top
nuclear experts have increased their estimates of North Korea's nuclear arsenal, revising their estimate to 20
warheads, with the capability of producing enough weapons-grade uranium to double that number by 2016.
April 16 - Before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, Army General Curtis "Mike" Scaparotti, commander of
U.S. Forces Korea, said he believes that North Korea has the ability to arm a KN-08 ICBM with a miniaturized nuclear
device.
April 14 - A Wall Street Journal editorial notes that Behrouz Kamalvandi, deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy
Organization, said, "we have inked an agreement with the Russians to construct two new nuclear power plants for
the generation of electricity, while the Chinese will also enter this arena soon," in remarks published in Iranian state
media.
April 13 - South Korean Vice Defense Minister Baek Seung-joo dismissed U.S. Admiral Bill Gortney's assessment of
North Korea's ability to mount a nuclear warhead on a KN-08 ICBM, saying that Adm. Gortney's remarks were "not
made with a thorough assessment of North Korea's capabilities."
April 8 - The head of NORAD and the U.S. Northern Command, Admiral Bill Gortney, told reporters that "our
assessment is that they [North Korean leadership] have the ability to put a nuclear weapon on a KN-08 and shoot it
at the homeland."
March 20 - In an interview with Sky News, North Korea's ambassador to the UK, Hyuan Hak-bong, when asked "So
can I just be clear: you are telling me that the North Korea [sic] has the ability now to fire a nuclear missile?",
Ambassador Hyun responded: "Any time, any time, yes."
March 19 - The commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, Admiral Cecil Haney, told the Senate Armed Services
Committee in a hearing that "we think [North Korea] already miniaturized some of this capability," referring to the
DPRK's nuclear weapons program.
March 18 - Citing growing missile threats from North Korea and Iran, U.S. Missile Defense Agency Director Navy Vice
Admiral James Syring said that the U.S. was carrying out increasingly realistic tests of missile defenses and
improving cyber security. Vice Admiral Syring also stated that North Korea has fielded hundreds of missiles capable
of reaching U.S. forces based in South Korea and Japan, according to Reuters.
March 18 - Bloomberg News reports that U.S. officials claim Iran did not technically violate the Joint Plan of Action
(JPOA) in feeding UF6 into an IR-5 centrifuge because some research and development related to centrifuges is
permitted (see Nov. 8, 2014 entry under Technical-Nuclear). Additionally, the U.S. officials claim that the person who
fed the UF6 into the centrifuge was likely a low- or mid-level employee who was not acting on orders from above.
February 25 - Joel Wit of the 38 North blog says that Pyongyang is currently believed to have 10 to 16 nuclear
weapons, has achieved miniaturization for the plutonium-based weapons, and projects to have as many as 100
nuclear weapons by 2020.
February 11 - The Institute for Science and International Security analyzes activity at Parchin, where Iran is alleged to
have conducted work related to nuclear weapons development. Satellite imagery from October showed
construction material and debris visible at the site. Imagery from January 2015 show the absence of these
materials, while showing gravel or recycled asphalt consistent with resurfacing prior to laying new asphalt.
January 28 - Satellite images suggest North Korea may be about to restart the nuclear reactor seen as its main
source of weapons grade plutonium, according to the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University.
January 7 - A 2014 South Korean Defense White Paper claims that North Korea has "reached a significant level of
technology to miniaturize nuclear weapons."
Technical - Missile
April 15 - The Washington Free Beacon reports that, since September 2014, more than two shipments of missile
parts have been monitored by U.S. intelligence agencies as they transited from North Korea to Iran. Unnamed
sources said the transfers included goods covered by the Missile Technology Control Regime, including large
diameter engines that could be used for a future Iranian long-range missile system.
April 15 - The Washington Free Beacon reports that, since September 2014, more than two shipments of missile
parts have been monitored by U.S. intelligence agencies as they transited from North Korea to Iran. Unnamed
sources said the transfers included goods covered by the Missile Technology Control Regime, including large
diameter engines that could be used for a future Iranian long-range missile system.
April 13 - Russia announces that it has lifted its ban on the sale of the sophisticated S-300 anti-aircraft missile
system to Iran. Iranian state media reports that the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council stated that
his country will receive delivery of the air-defense system by the end of the year.
April 11 - Speaking with reporters in Seoul, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter condemns recent North Korean
missile launches, saying the launches "puts the security of the Korean peninsula and the entire region in danger."
April 8 - North Korea fired two surface-to-air missiles off its west coast before U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter
was to visit Seoul.
April 7 - The head of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, Admiral Bill Gortney, confirmed to reporters that the
road-mobile KN-08 ICBM, first paraded in North Korea in 2012, is operational.
April 4 - North Korea test-fired 4 short-range missiles into the West (Yellow) Sea to protest the ongonig SeoulWashington military exercises, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.
March 25 - At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, the Commander of the U.S. Strategic Command,
Admiral Cecil D. Haney, confirmed that North Korea is in the process of developing a submarine-launched ballistic
missile.
March 18 - The Director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency testifies in a Senate hearing that both Iran and North
Korea could achieve the ability to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile as early as this year.
March 18 - The Director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency testifies in a Senate hearing that both Iran and North
Korea could achieve the ability to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile as early as this year.
March 13 - North Korea fires seven surface-to-air missiles off its east coast, including the first test of a SA-5 system,
again in response to the ongoing U.S.-South Korea military drills.
March 8 - Iranian officials unveil the Soumar cruise missile.
March 5- IHS Janes 360 reports the IRGC's naval wing implied it is working on a missile that can be launched from
a submarine.
March 2 - South Korea's Defense Ministry reports that North Korea fired two short-range missiles off its eastern coast
hours before the annual U.S.-South Korean military exercises were scheduled to begin. North Korea fired the
missiles without designating any no-sail zones, which the Defense Ministry took as a provocation.
February 27 - Iran test fires a new "strategic weapon", which the IRGC's naval chief says would be critical in a war
with the U.S.
February 25 - Iran's Navy destroys a model U.S. aircraft carrier in a simulation exercise.
February 8 - North Korea fires five short-range missiles off its eastern coast, flying about 125 miles northeast before
crashing into the sea.
February 7 - North Korea's Rodong Sinmun publishes an article describing Kim Jong-un's recent trip to inspect the
Korean People's Navy East Sea Fleet, during which he observed the test of a new anti-ship missile.
February 2 - Al-Alam, an Arabic news channel owned by Iran's state-owned media corporation, announces that Iran
launched its first satellite since 2012. Western countries are concerned this technology could be applied to longrange ballistic missiles.
United Nations
April 30 - At an event highlighting human rights conditions in North Korea featuring several North Korean defectors,
North Korean diplomats interrupted by insisting to read a statement in protest of the event amid shouts from the
defectors.
April 15 - Iran and the IAEA hold talks in Tehran. The IAEA issues a statement saying that the two sides "had a
constructive exchange on the two practice measures under discussion," referencing the outstanding issues related
to the nature of neutron calculations and alleged experiments on explosives that could be used to develop an
atomic device, both of which have possible military dimensions (PMD). The IAEA's statement does not mention any
major developments in its negotiations with Iran, despite having said in March that it expected progress with Iran in
April on the outstanding issues.
April 9 - North Korea accused Mexico of illegally holding a cargo ship, the Mu Du Bong, after it ran aground off the
coast of Mexico in July. The Permanent Mission of Mexico to the UN said that the owner of the ship, North Korea's
Ocean Maritime Management Company, "has avoided the sanctions imposed by the U.N. Security Council."
March 24 - The Washington Post reports that IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano stated that progress on IAEA
inquiries related to PMD to Iran's nuclear program is "very limited". According to the Washington Post, Amano said
that the P5+1 should insist that Iran implement the additional protocol that would allow IAEA inspectors to go
anywhere at any time to examine sites suspected of harboring weapons development. Amano stated that the IAEA
believes it has identified "the right places to visit" within the Parchin site to investigate allegations of weapons
related research, but that access to the site has been blocked by Iran.
March 23 - IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano states that "we are still not in a position to conclude that
all nuclear material in Iran is [for a] peaceful purpose."
March 20 - The IAEA reports that Iran is continuing to meet its commitments under the JPOA.
March 9 - Iran and the IAEA hold talks. The IAEA says that Iran has still not addressed the practical measures related
to the initiation of high explosives and neutron transport calculations, which both have PMD.
March 2 - IAEA chief Yukiya Amano says Iran is being slow to cooperate with the IAEA investigation, noting that Iran
has yet to provide explanations to clarify practical measures related to activities that have PMD.
February 25 - A UN panel reports that a North Korean company subject to sanctions is renaming ships to disguise
their origins and continue arms shipments, violating sanctions.
February 23 - A UN report of the Panel of Experts (PoE), established pursuant to UN Resolution 1874, is released,
citing proliferation trends and manners in which North Korea has skirted UN Resolutions. Some of the potential
violations include: DPRK officials who were caught travelling back to North Korea via Southeast Asia with suitcases
containing $450,000 in cash payment for an arms deal; France obtaining evidence of Reconnaissance General
Bureau, one of four DPRK clandestine services, operatives stationed in UNESCO and the World Food Programme
working in activities relevant to sanctions; and North Korean scientists' participation in the Joint Institute for
Nuclear Research as a potential violation of sanctions.
February 19 - An IAEA report notes that Iran still has not provided information related to two outstanding practical
measures with PMD (the initiation of high explosives and neutron transport calculation), nor has Iran proposed new
practical measures. Activities at Parchin that undermine verification continue. The IR-5 centrifuge is disconnected
and not being fed UF6. Institute for Science and International Security analysis notes that Iran's average daily
production of 3.5 percent low enriched uranium (LEU) has decreased significantly, raising the possibility that Iran
could be lowering the output of the centrifuges in order to argue to keep more centrifuges. The Institute notes that
Iran is moving to institute a scrap recovery capability. Iran agreed under the JPOA extension not to process certain
portions of the scrap.
February 7 - IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano holds talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif.
Diplomatic
April 28 - Iran's Revolutionary Guard patrol boats fire shots and then intercept a Marshall Islands-flagged
commercial cargo ship. The U.S. Navy reveals that a U.S. flagged ship was intercepted by the Revolutionary Guard
naval patrol on April 24.
April 27 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif meet in New York
to continue discussions related to the nuclear agreement. It is their first meeting since April 2.
April 10 - A Chinese state-run newspaper, The Global Times, warned that bilateral ties between Beijing and Seoul
would be "shattered" if South Korea deployed the advanced U.S. Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)
missile defense system.
April 4 - U.S. State Department says that the nuclear deal with Iran has no bearing on North Korea's nuclear
program.
April 2 - Iran, the U.S., and the P5+1 reach a preliminary framework for a deal. Key elements of the agreement
include: Iran will reduce by approximately two-thirds its installed centrifuges (from about 19,000 to about 6,100);
Iran will not enrich uranium above 3.67 percent for at least 15 years; Iran will reduce its stockpile of low-enriched
uranium from 10,000 kg to 300 kg for 15 years; Iran will continue to operate Fordow as a research facility, but will
not enrich uranium there; Iran will continue to operate centrifuges at Natanz, but will only use its first generation
centrifuges; and the IAEA will have regular access to Iran's nuclear facilities. The agreement allows Iran relief from
U.S., EU, and UN sanctions if Iran verifiably abides by the terms of the deal.
March 29 - P5+1 negotiations with Iran continue, with top officials involved, such as U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry and the German and French foreign ministers, cancelling their travel plans for the next several days so as to
remain available for continued negotiations.
March 26 - The Associated Press reports that the U.S. is considering letting Iran run hundreds of centrifuges at the
underground Fordo site in exchange for limits on centrifuge work and research and development at other sites.
March 26 - Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif meet for negotiations,
which continue for the next two days. Iranian President Rouhani speaks with the leaders of France, Britain, China,
and Russia. A U.S. spokesperson acknowledges that a letter from Rouhani to President Barack Obama was given to
the U.S. negotiating team.
March 20 - Talks between Iran and the P5+1 recess without an agreement. Negotiations are set to reconvene the
following week. France takes the hardest line with Iran, insisting on a longer period of restrictions on Iran's nuclear
work and also opposing the idea of suspending some U.N. sanctions relatively quickly if a deal is struck.
March 19 - President Obama issues a Nowruz statement saying that this is "an historic opportunity to resolve this
[nuclear] issue peacefully."
March 19 - The Associated Press reports that the U.S. and Iran are drafting elements of a nuclear deal that commits
Iran to a 40 percent cut in the number of centrifuges Iran can operate (down to 6,000 from 10,000 currently
operating), and in return, Iran would get quick relief from economic sanctions and a partial lift on the UN arms
embargo.
March 17 - A South Korea Ministry of Unification statement accuses the North of a cyberattack on its nuclear power
plant operator in December 2014.
March 15-18 - Bilateral talks continue between the U.S. and Iran, with meetings taking place over the course of
several days between Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif, and between
Iran's nuclear chief and U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz. Meetings involving other P5+1 powers also take
place during this period. Iran's nuclear chief states that there is "agreement on 90 percent of technical issues,"
while White House spokesman Josh Earnest says, "Reaching an agreement is at best 50-50."
March 12 - Reuters reports that the P5+1 have begun talks with Iran regarding a UN Security Council resolution to
lift UN sanctions on Iran if a nuclear agreement is reached.
March 11 - The Washington Times cites a U.S. government source saying that there are signs the Obama
Administration is quietly working to open secret talks with Pyongyang to eventually normalize relations in a similar
manner to the secret negotiations that led to the December 2014 announcement which began normalizing
relations with Cuba.
March 6 - A South Korean man who had previously made seven visits to the North between 1999 and 2007 was
detained after slashing U.S. Ambassador Mark Lippert with a knife in the face while shouting "the South Korea-U.S.
military drills must stop" at an event in Seoul. North Korea called the stabbing a "knife attack of justice" and that it
reflected "anti-U.S. sentiment" in South Korea.
March 5 - Iran and the P5+1 continue negotiations.
March 4 - Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif conclude three days of talks.
February 27 - KCNA releases a statement saying "nuclear weapons are not a monopoly of the U.S. The U.S. is
seriously mistaken if it thinks its mainland is safe" in protest of the upcoming military drills between the U.S. and
South Korean forces.
February 22 - Bilateral meetings take place between Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister
Mohammad Zarif. For the first time, the meetings include talks between Iran's nuclear chief and U.S. Secretary of
Energy Ernest Moniz. The bilateral meetings are followed by Iran and P5+1 talks.
January 23 - President Obama says in an interview posted on YouTube that he believes that the North Korean
regime will ultimately collapse.
January 18 - Iran and the P5+1 hold talks in Geneva.
January 14 - Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif hold talks in Geneva. They
meet again two days later in Paris.
January 13 - North Korea offers to hold talks with the U.S. on its proposal to suspend nuclear tests, in exchange for a
freeze on U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises. The U.S. rejects the offer.
program.
embargo.
program.
embargo.
North Korea
Iran
2014
Technical - Nuclear
December 10 - The 38 North blog reports that recent activity at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site are for maintenance
purposes and that a nuclear test is "unlikely" in the next two to three months.
December 8 - The Institute for Science and International Security notes that only a portion of the low enriched
uranium (LEU) oxide that Iran pledged to convert into fuel assemblies has been converted. The rest is in scrap, inprocess material, and waste, and could be recovered for breakout.
November 11 - Russia signs a contract to build two nuclear reactors in Iran, with the possibility of six more to follow.
Russia will supply uranium fuel and then take it back for reprocessing.
November 10 - A U.S. government official states that the U.S. raised the issue of Iran feeding uranium gas into the
IR-5 centrifuge (see Nov. 8), and Iran said it would cease to do so.
November 9 - Former IAEA deputy chief Olli Heinonen says Iran could have up to 5,000 IR-2m centrifuges rather
than the 1,008 it claimed. The IR-2m centrifuges are up to five times more effective in enriching uranium than the
IR-1 type.
November 8 - The Institute for Science and International Security highlights an IAEA report that Iran fed uranium
gas (UF6) into an IR-5 centrifuge, which had not been done before. This could be considered a violation of the Joint
Plan of Action (JPOA).
October 6 - A fire and explosion at a military explosives facility near Parchin kills two people.
September 4 - The IAEA says it has seen release of steam and water at a North Korean site that is consistent with
efforts to restart a reactor.
September 3 - The Institute for Science and International Security publishes satellite images showing new
construction materials or debris and new dirt or water runoff at Parchin, where activities related to nuclear weapons
development are alleged to have occurred. Previously visible dirt or water runoff and possible construction material
are not visible anymore.
August 30 - The British Broadcasting Corporation reports that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, speaking on
Iranian TV, said, "Of course we bypass sanctions. We are proud that we bypass sanctions because the sanctions are
illegal."
August 29 - The State Department announces sanctions against four Iranian entities providing support to illicit
nuclear activities, including one that sought to acquire 100,000 specialized magnets used in centrifuge machines,
enough for 50,000 centrifuges.
August 27 - Iran announces a new centrifuge, the IR-8, which it claims is 16 times more powerful than the IR-1. Iran
claims it is modifying the Arak reactor due to Western concerns.
July 7 - KCNA announces the death of senior official Jon Pyong Ho, who was integral in developing North Korea's
nuclear capacity. Jon's death marked a shift to a new generation of North Korean scientists who will play a central
role in determining the success of North Korea's nuclear program.
May 8 - The Institute for Science and International Security publishes satellite images showing movement of
possible building material or debris at the Parchin. Two trucks or containers have been removed, while a new large
object is present. Dirt or water runoff is visible.
April 22 - The South Korean Defence Ministry reports "various types of activities" at Punggye-ri in the days leading
up to President Obama's visit to South Korea but that "some of the necessary preparations simply aren't visible yet."
April 15 - Lee Specialties Ltd. (Canada) pleads guilty to unlawful export to Iran of Viton-O rings, which can withstand
high temperatures and corrosive chemicals such as uranium hexafluoride, and therefore be used in gas centrifuge
facilities.
April 8 - Secretary of State John Kerry testifies in a Senate hearing that Iran could produce fissile material for an
atomic weapon in two months.
April 4 - A U.S. court unseals charges against a Chinese citizen for operating as a middleman seeking American
pressure transducers on behalf of Iran's nuclear program.
February 25 - The Institute for Science and International Security publishes satellite imagery showing possible
building material and debris at Parchin.
February 10 - South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin tells the South Korean National Assembly that
Pyongyang has prepared for an underground nuclear test at Punggye-ri but that there are no signs of an imminent
test.
January 29 - In a statement to a Senate Committee, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper notes that the
U.S. believes North Korea has expanded its Yongbyon enrichment facility and restarted its plutonium reactor.
January 29 - In a statement to a Senate Committee, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper notes that Iran
installed more centrifuges at the Fuel Enrichment Plant, developed advanced centrifuge designs, and stockpiled
low-enriched uranium hexafluoride, all better positioning Iran to produce weapons-grade uranium, but that Iran
could not do so before being discovered. Iran continues to work on the Arak Reactor.
Technical - Missile
November 3 - Joseph Bermudez of AllSource Analysis writes on the 38 North blog that "it is likely to take years" to
bring a submarine-launched ballistic missile to operational capacity.
October 1 - A 38 North blog report cites recent satellite imagery indicating that the Sohae Satellite Launching
Station had been upgraded, enabling it to launch rockets larger than the existing Unha-3 space launch vehicle in
the future.
September 14 - South Korean news service Yonhap reports that South Korea's military has detected signs of North
Korea's development of a submarine-based ballistic missile launch system.
September 8 - IHS Janes 360 reports that a Defense Department report states that Irans Khalij Fars anti-ship
ballistic missile is being delivered to operational units.
September 2 - Iran unveils the Talash-3 surface-to-air missile and two radar systems. Iran claims the missile has
been test-fired.
August 24 - Iran unveils Ghadir short-range marine missiles.
June 16 - The Chosun Ilbo reports a new North Korean propaganda video shows a new cruise missile, likely of
Russian origin.
June 5 - A UN Panel of Experts report reviewing allegations of sanctions violations states that Iran is continuing its
ballistic missile program and is reported to have conducted several test launches in the past year. A launch complex
for ballistic missiles and satellite launch vehicles is assessed to be near completion at the Imam Khomeini Space
Centre. Iran is reportedly seeking metals and components for guidance systems and fuel.
May 13 - IHS Janes 360 reports the IRGC has unveiled variants of the Fateh-110 tactical ballistic missile: the
Hormuz-1 (anti-radiation variant) and Hormuz-2 (which Iran claims is an anti-ship missile). The IRGC also displayed
the Ya Ali cruise missile and a new submunitions warhead.
March 5 - The IRGC holds a ceremony to mark delivery of four types of missiles, claiming two have multiple
warheads.
February 11- Director of National Intelligence James Clapper states during a Senate hearing that he does not
believe Iran is currently receiving assistance with its intercontinental ballistic missile program (though he notes its
history with North Korea). In testimony for the record, Lt. General Michael Flynn, Director of the Defense Intelligence
Agency, states that Iran is developing an anti-ship ballistic missile and that Iran's Simorgh space launch vehicle
shows intent to develop intercontinental ballistic missile technology.
February 10 - Iran test-fires two missiles, including one long range ballistic missile with radar-evading capabilities
which Iran claims can carry multiple re-entry vehicle (MRV) payloads. Some experts doubt Iran has the technology
for MRV payloads.
January 29 - In a statement to a Senate Committee, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper notes that Iran's
progress on space launch vehicles enables Iran to develop longer range missiles, including intercontinental ballistic
missiles.
United Nations
December 22 - The Security Council holds a briefing focusing on a UN inquiry that found widespread and systematic
human rights abuses. While several Security Council members support referring North Korea to the ICC for possible
prosecution, any such referral is highly unlikely given China's veto power.
December 19 - The IAEA reports Iran is implementing the JPOA.
December 8 - ForeignPolicy.com reports that the U.S. informed a UN Panel monitoring sanctions that Iran has been
increasing efforts to illicitly obtain equipment for the Arak reactor.
November 20 - IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano states that Iran has not provided explanations to clarify the
practical measures related to the initiation of high explosives and neutron transport calculations, which both have
possible military dimensions (PMD), nor has Iran proposed new practical measures.
November 18 - The UN General Assembly votes 111 to 19, with 55 members abstaining, to pass a resolution
condemning North Korea for human rights abuses and recommending the prosecution of its leaders for crimes
against humanity at the International Criminal Court.
November 7 - An IAEA report notes that Iran has not provided information on the practical measures related to
initiation of high explosives or neutron transport calculations (which both have PMD), nor has Iran suggested new
practical measures. Iran is feeding UF6 into the IR-5 centrifuge (see Nov. 8 entry in Technical-Nuclear). The IAEA staff
member previously denied a visa to Iran was denied a visa for the fourth time. Activities at Parchin have
undermined JPOA verification.
November 2 - Iran and the IAEA discuss the practical measures related to initiation of high explosives and neutron
transport calculations (both with PMD).
October 16 - The IAEA completes an inspection at the Arak reactor. Iran has not installed major new components.
October 7-8 - Iran and the IAEA discuss the practical measures related to initiation of high explosives and neutron
transport calculations (both with PMD).
September 5 - An IAEA report states that an IAEA team member was denied a visa to Iran three different times.
Modifications continue at Parchin. Iran missed a deadline to implement four of the five practical measures agreed
to in May (of the four, two were completed after the deadline and two have yet to be completed). The IAEA cannot
conclude that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities. The Institute for Science and International Security
notes that Iran's stock of near 20 percent LEU hexafluoride is approaching zero, but the LEU is retained in other
forms and could produce enough uranium for a weapon if reconverted to hexafluoride.
September 4 - The IAEA reports signs that North Korea may be operating a reactor.
September 4 - The IAEA reiterates its invitation to Iran to propose new practical measures in reply to Iran's proposal
that a road map be developed before new measures are identified.
August 31 - Iran and the IAEA discuss implementing the practical measures related to initiation of high explosives
and neutron transport calculations, which both have PMD.
August 28 - Iran tells the IAEA that "most of the issues" with PMD are "mere allegations and do not merit
consideration."
August 23 - Iran states that it will not give inspectors access to Parchin. IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano
previously stated that access to Parchin was essential for the IAEA to certify Iran's nuclear program is peaceful.
August 17 - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani tells IAEA chief Yukiya Amano that Iran will not discuss its long range
missile program. Amano notes in a press conference that Iran provided information on the Exploding Bridge Wire
detonators.
July 20 - An IAEA report on implementation of the JPOA states that Iran is complying with the deal.
June 27 - A UN Panel determines that a seized shipment of weapons originated in Iran, violating the UN arms
embargo.
June 5 - A UN Panel of Experts report reviewing sanctions violations states that the Panel investigated 30 alleged
violations involving dual-use items believed to be headed to Iran.
June 2 - IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano states that he remains "seriously concerned" about North Korea's
nuclear program.
June 2 - IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano states that the IAEA is unable to provide assurance about the absence
of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran, and is unable to conclude that all nuclear material in Iran is in
peaceful activities.
May 23 - The IAEA reports that it continues to seek answers to questions about Parchin, and to request access to a
particular location at Parchin. Since the IAEA's request for access, construction activities appear to have taken place
at Parchin that will undermine the IAEA's ability to conduct effective verification. Iran has provided information
regarding Exploding Bridge Wire detonators, but the IAEA must analyze the information in a "system assessment"
of all issues with PMD. Iran declared a new facility, the Fars Research Reactor, a 10 MW light water reactor fueled by
LEU. The Institute for Science and International Security notes that Iran's stock of near 20 percent LEU hexafluoride
is approaching zero, but the LEU is retained in other forms and could produce enough uranium for a nuclear
weapon if reconverted to hexafluoride.
May 20 - Iran and the IAEA meet about the practical measures outlined in February, agreeing on five more measures
for Iran to complete, including providing the IAEA with information about Iran's work on the initiation of high
explosives and Iran's work on neutron transport, which both have PMD.
May 15 - The UN Panel of Experts reports Iran is continuing its ballistic missile and space program. A new missile
launch site was identified in August 2013, and a launch complex near the Imam Khomeini Space Centre for ballistic
missiles and satellite launch vehicles is near completion.
May 12 - Iran and the IAEA meet to discuss the practical measures due by May 15. Iran says it has complied, while
the IAEA says more must be done, including receiving more information from Iran on Exploding Bridge Wire
detonators.
May 10 - The IAEA conducts an inspection at the Enriched Uranium Oxide Powder Plant, confirming the facility has
been commissioned using natural uranium. The plant can convert 3.5 percent LEU hexafluoride into oxide form.
April 30 - Iran provides more information about the Exploding Bridge Wire detonators.
April 26 - Iran and the IAEA meet in Tehran. The IAEA states it must conduct a "system assessment" of all issues with
PMD. Iran provides information about the Exploding Bridge Wire detonators.
March 30 - KCNA responds to a UN Security Council condemnation of North Korea's missile launches by warning of
"next-stage steps which the enemy can hardly imagine," including "a new form of nuclear test for bolstering up its
nuclear deterrence."
March 17 - Michael Kirby, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the DPRK, releases a statement
saying that the Commission had "found systematic, widespread and grave human rights violations occurring in the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It has also found a disturbing array of crimes against humanity."
March 3 - IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano reiterates that the IAEA cannot provide assurance about the absence
of undeclared nuclear material in Iran, and is unable to conclude that all nuclear material in Iran is used for
peaceful activities. He notes the need to clarify issues with PMD.
February 20 - The IAEA reports Iran is implementing the JPOA and Framework for Cooperation. The IAEA remains
concerned about activities with PMD, including new activity at Parchin. Iran is not implementing the "Additional
Protocol" and the IAEA is unable to provide assurances about the absence of undeclared nuclear material in Iran
until the protocol is implemented.
February 18 - IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif.
February 14 - IAEA requests an updated schedule for the commissioning of the Enriched Uranium Oxide Powder
Plant.
February 10 - The IAEA inspects Iran's Enriched Uranium Oxide Powder Plant, which has not yet begun operating.
February 9 - Iran and the IAEA agree on seven practical measures for Iran to implement by May 15, including
providing information on Iran's need for Exploding Bridge Wire detonators (which have PMD).
February 8 - Iran informs the IAEA that it intends to construct a 10 MW light water pool reactor.
January 20 - The IAEA reports Iran is implementing the JPOA.
January 18 - Iran tells the IAEA that it is selecting sites for five new uranium enrichment facilities.
January 17 - The IAEA outlines its role in monitoring the JPOA.
Diplomatic
November 24 - Sony Pictures Entertainment is the victim of a cyber attack with confidential information about
private employees released publically. North Korean state-sponsored hackers are suspected of perpetrating the
attack in retaliation for the release of The Interview, a comedy film about an assassination attempt against Kim
Jong-un.
November 24 - Talks between the P5 +1 and Iran conclude without a deal. The JPOA is extended until June 30,
including sanctions relief giving Iran $700 million a month in frozen assets.
November 18 - Negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 resume. Iran's Foreign Minister states Iran will resist
"excessive demands".
Nov. 9-10 - Secretary of State John Kerry, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif, and EU foreign policy chief
Catherine Ashton meet in Oman.
November 8 - U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper travels to Pyongyang on a secret mission to
secure the release of two American hostages, Matthew Miller and Kenneth Bae.
October 15 - Secretary of State John Kerry, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif, and EU foreign policy chief
Catherine Ashton meet, followed by Iran and P5+1 negotiations.
October 22 - North Korea says that Kim Jong-un personally ordered the release of American Jeffrey Fowle after
considering requests from President Obama.
October 4 - A top North Korean military delegation makes an unannounced trip to Incheonto to attend the closing
ceremonies of the 17th Asian Games.
September 18 - Talks between Iran and the P5+1 continue.
July 19 - Iran and the P5+1 fail to meet the negotiating deadline. The JPOA is extended until November. Iran is
given access to an additional $2.8 billion in frozen assets.
July 3 - Iran and the P5+1 begin two weeks of negotiations leading up to the July 20 deadline.
June 16-20 - Negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 continue. Iran tells the P5+1 it will not accept their
"excessive demands".
May 14-16 - Negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 continue. Reuters reports the U.S. delegation wanted to
discuss Iran's missile program and PMD of past nuclear work. Iran's Foreign Minister laughed and ignored the
remark.
May 2 - KCNA publishes a series of essays by North Korean citizens with racist and bigoted remarks toward President
Obama.
April 8-9 - Negotiations continue between Iran and the P5+1.
March 24 - President Park Geun-Hye of South Korea at the Third Nuclear Security Summit says that, according to an
IAEA report, a fire at the Yongbyon facility in a single building could lead to a disaster worse than Chernobyl.
March 20 - Japan and North Korea agree to hold formal talks for the first time in over a year.
March 18-20 - Negotiations continue between Iran and the P5+1.
February 18-20 - Iran and the P5+1 set a negotiating framework.
January 20 - Implementation of the JPOA begins.
January 12 - Iran and the P5+1 announce the JPOA will be implemented January 20.
January 10 - Iran and the P5+1 discuss JPOA implementation.
North Korea
Iran
2013
Technical - Nuclear
November 18: An Iranian opposition group claimed that Iran has developed a secret new nuclear site inside an
1,800-foot tunnel complex beneath mountains six miles from the town of Mobarekeh, within the Haft-e Tir military
industrial complex.
November 15: South Korean Vice Defense Minister Baek Seung-joo says that the southern tunnel at the Punggye-ri
site can be used for another test at any time, but there are no imminent signs for such action. Also estimates that
North Korea will have 6 kg of weapons-grade plutonium by end of 2014.
November 13: Former national security council member Victor Cha warns of a potential 4th North Korean nuclear
test late in 2013 to force negotiations, based on previous behavior.
November 13: Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Irans Atomic Energy Organization, said he hopes that the construction
of a second Russian-built power plant can begin after March.
November 3: Kyodo News reports that Iranian and North Korean officials agreed in August to continue cooperation November 3: Kyodo News reports that Iranian and North Korean officials agreed in August to continue cooperation
in nuclear and missile development.
in nuclear and missile development.
October 24: A SAIS report shows satellite imagry of two new tunnel entrances and continued excavation at the
Punggye-ri nuclear site indicating future tests are planned.
October 24: Iran may need only a month to produce enough weapons-grade uranium for a nuclear bomb,
according to a report by the Institute for Science and International Security.
September 23: A report by Joshua Pollack, a Washington-based nuclear proliferation expert, along with
Massachusetts Institute of Technology centrifuge expert Scott Kemp, states that North Korean are now scientists
capable of building advanced components for uranium based nuclear bombs on their own, cutting need to import
centrifuge technology.
September 13: Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and reportedly
planned to offer to supply missile systems and build a second nuclear power reactor for Iran.
September 12: Rueters reports that satellite imagry shows steam rising from Yongban reactor, suggesting that it is
now operational following North Korea's promise to restart reactor in April 2013.
August 28: The IAEA reported that Iran has begun installing more than 1,000 advanced, IR-2m uranium enrichment
centrifuges, but has not put any uranium into the centrifuges. The report added that Iran appears to be restraining
the growth of its stockpile of medium-enriched uranium by continuing to convert some of it into reactor fuel.
August 17: Irans outgoing nuclear chief said Iran has installed 18,000 uranium-enrichment centrifuges.
August 16: Irans outgoing Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi was appointed to head the regimes Atomic Energy
Organization.
August 5: The Wall Street Journal reports that Iran has made significant advances on the construction of a heavy
water reactor in Arak and could begin producing weapons-grade plutonium by next summer, according to U.S. and
European officials.
July 17: Siegfried Hecker of Los Alamos National Laboratory warns of Iran and North Korea sharing nuclear-weapon
test data, saying it could accelerate development of nuclear weapons in both countries.
June 17: ForeignPolicy.com published a confidential report by a UN Security Council sanctions committee which
states that Iran continues to evade UN sanctions on its nuclear program by changing its supply routes, erecting new
front companies, and shopping the world for lower grade parts that are not explicitly prohibited by the Council, but
are still capable of contributing to the assembly of a nuclear power reactor.
May 3: The State Department stated that Iran and North Korea were trying to obtain high-tech materials linked to
their nuclear programs, in violation of U.N. sanctions.
May 3: The State Department stated that Iran and North Korea were trying to obtain high-tech materials linked to
their nuclear programs, in violation of U.N. sanctions.
April 15: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Niger, the worlds fourth-ranked producer of uranium,
amid reports that Iran is close to exhausting its domestic raw uranium reserves.
April 9: Irans president announces an expansion of the countrys uranium production and claims other atomic
energy advances, striking a pugnacious tone in the aftermath of diplomatic talks that ended in an impasse with the
big powers on April 6 in Kazakhstan.
April 2: North Korea vows to reopen the Yongban nuclear reactor in defiance of UN resolutions, according to KCNA.
March 14: President Obama tells an Israeli television station that his administration believes it would take Iran
over a year or so to develop a nuclear weapon.
March 1: Reuters reported that Swiss commodities firm Glencore supplied thousands of tons of aluminum via
barter to the Iranian Aluminum Company, which provided aluminum to Irans nuclear program.
February 26: Satellite images revealed the first publicly available evidence that Iran is developing a second path to
a nuclear weapons capability by operating a plant in Arak that could produce plutonium. The images also showed
that numerous anti-aircraft missile and artillery sites are defending the plantmore such sites than are deployed by
any other known nuclear sites in Iran.
February 23: Irans Atomic Energy Organization reports it has found significant new deposits of raw uranium (for
total raw uranium reserves of around 4,400 tons) and identified sites for 16 more nuclear power stations.
February 13: The Institute for Science and International Security revealed evidence that Iran recently sought to
acquire from China tens of thousands of highly specialized magnets used in centrifuge machines, indicating that
Iran may be planning to significantly expand its nuclear program and reduce the timeline for the regime to obtain a
nuclear weapons capability. It was unclear whether Iran had succeeded in purchasing the magnets.
February 12: North Korea conducts its third underground nuclear test. Explosion yield was approximately several
kilotons, according to the office of the DNI. It registered a 5.1 on the Richter scale, higher than both previous tests,
according to the U.S. Geologic Survey.
January 24: North Korea's National Defense Commission announces it will continue testing nuclear and longrange rocket technologies in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions.
Technical - Missile
November 26: Technicians from the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group (SHIG) have traveled several times to
Pyongyang in 2013 to work on a new, 80-ton rocket booster being developed by North Korea, according to a report
in the Washington Free Beacon by Bill Gertz. The booster is intended for a new long-range missile that could be
fitted with a nuclear warhead.
November 26: Technicians from the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group (SHIG) have traveled several times to
Pyongyang in 2013 to work on a new, 80-ton rocket booster being developed by North Korea, according to a report
in the Washington Free Beacon by Bill Gertz. The booster is intended for a new long-range missile that could be
fitted with a nuclear warhead.
November 18: Iran unveiled a missile-equipped drone with a range of 1,200 miles.
November 6: PACOM Commander Admiral Samuel Locklear says that North Korea's KN-08 missile, a road-mobile
ICBM, is a serious threat to hit the U.S. with a nuclear warhead.
November 5: South Korea's Defense Intelligence Agency said in a briefing in front of the National Assembly
intelligence committee that North Korea has conducted 5 missile engine tests at the Dongchang-ri site in 2013.
November 4: Jeffrey Lewis and John Schilling of SAIS and the 38 North blog say that North Korea's "fake" KN-08
ICBM is improving, indicating greater capabilities, which includes putting Los Angeles, Denver and Seattle in range.
October 28: The SAIS 38 North blog shows satellite imagry suggesting that the missile launch site at Sohae is being
upgraded in preparation for future tests.
October 25: An Iranian-American dual citizen, Reza Olangian of Los Gatos, California, was charged with conspiracy to
acquire Russian-built long-range surface-to-air missiles for the Iranian regime, as well as violations of the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
October 21: The heads of the Russian and Iranian air forces met in Iran to discuss increasing military cooperation,
with talks focusing on "electronic listening systems, radar and missiles, including discussion of delivery of Russianbuilt S-300 ballistic missiles to Iran.
September 27: The Iranian Revolutionary Guards announced the mass production of the Shahed-129 drone, which
the Guards said has a range of 1,000 miles and a 24-hour non-stop flight capability, can carry eight bombs or
missiles, and can hit both fixed and moving targets.
September 13: Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and reportedly
planned to offer to supply missile systems and build a second nuclear power reactor for Iran.
August 18: Former Iranian defense minister Ahmad Vahidi said that Iran is sixth in the world and first in the Middle
East in missile production, stating Iran had attained that level by attaining domestic technology for building solid
fuel missiles, as well as designing and manufacturing surface-to-surface long-range missiles.
August 8: Janes reports that Iran has developed a second rocket-launching facility that will likely be used to test
ballistic missiles.
June 9: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran had established a space-monitoring center. The West
worries that space-monitoringrelated technology could be used to develop long-range missiles. Iranian Defense
Minister Ahmad Vahidi said that the regime would share the data that the center acquired with other countries.
May 18-20: North Korea fires 6 guided short range rockets into Sea of Japan over three days.
April 16: Irans deputy defense minister stated that the regime had test-fired a new land-to-sea ballistic missile in
the Gulf.
March 2: The New York Times reported that an Iranian dhow seized off the coast of Yemen was carrying 10 Chinese
heat-seeking antiaircraft missiles, likely assembled at a factory of the state-owned China National Precision
Machinery Import and Export Corporation, which the U.S. has sanctioned for transferring missile technology to Iran
and Pakistan. The vessel reportedly also carried 10 SA-7 shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles, nearly 17,000 blocks of
Iranian-made C-4 plastic explosives, 48 Russian PN-14K night vision goggles, and 10 LH80A laser range finders
made by the state-run Iran Electronics Industries, also sanctioned by the U.S.
United Nations
November 20: UN General Assembly's 3rd Committee passes draft resolution expressing "very serious concern at
the persistence of continuing reports of systematic, widespread and grave violations of civil, political, economic,
social and cultural rights" in North Korea.
November 11: Iran signed an agreement with the IAEA to grant the agency managed access to a uranium mine
and a heavy-water plant within three months. An annex to the agreement noted six steps Iran would take by
February 11, including providing information about planned new research reactors and sites for future nuclear
power plants and clarifying earlier statements about additional uranium enrichment facilities that it has said it
intends to construct.
June 3: IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano told the IAEA Board of Governors that Irans efforts to pave and asphalt
over the Parchin site, where Iranian scientists may have conducted nuclear weaponsrelated experiments, likely will
impede any future IAEA investigations into such experiments.
May 22: An IAEA report claimed satellite photos reveal that Iran has begun paving and asphalt over a former
military site, Parchin, where the regimes scientists may have conducted experiments related to nuclear weapons.
April 8: IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano stated that the agency cannot rule out that Iran is actively seeking
nuclear weapons technology, citing credible information that Iran continued nuclear weaponsrelated research
since 2003.
March 4: IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano told the agencys governing board that Iran must finally address
concerns that it has sought to design an atomic bomb, calling for swift IAEA access to an Iranian military base where
relevant explosives tests allegedly were undertaken.
February 22: The IAEA reported that Iran is advancing in its construction of a nuclear plant at Arak that could
produce plutonium for nuclear weapons. The report claimed that Iran has almost completed installation of cooling
and moderator circuit piping in the plant.
February 14: IAEA inspectors returned from talks in Tehran without a deal for reviving an investigation into
suspected nuclear weapons developmentrelated activity by the regime and without a date for further talks.
January 22: UN Security Council unanimously adopts Resolution 2087 condemning the December 12, 2012
missile launch.
Diplomatic
November 24: The AP reported that the U.S. and Iran engaged in secret, high-level negotiations for the past year
that paved the way for the November 23 interim agreement. The negotiations were kept secret until two months
ago even from close U.S. allies like Israel and from the rest of the P5+1. President Obama personally authorized
the talks, which took place in Oman.
November 20: Yonhap News reports that China is pushing for an early restart of 6-party talks.
November 23: The P5+1 reach an interim, 6-month agreement on Irans nuclear program, subject to further
negotiations on implementation. Iran agreed to temporarily stop enriching uranium above the 5-percent level.
Much of its stockpile of 20-percent enriched uranium will be diluted or converted so that it cannot be readily used
for weapons purposes. Iran agreed not to install any new uranium enrichment centrifuges, start up any not
presently operating, or build new enrichment facilities. However, the agreement does not require Iran to suspend
uranium enrichment entirely, as multiple UN Security Council resolutions mandate. Iranian President Hassan
Rouhani trumpeted the agreement as a recognition of Irans self-proclaimed right to enrich uranium. In return for
the initial agreement, the United States agreed to provide $6 billion to $7 billion in sanctions relief for Iran,
including roughly $4.2 billion in oil revenue that has been frozen in foreign banks.
November 13: Russian President Vladimir Putin pushes for an early resumption of the 6-party talks.
November 13: In a joint statement, President Obama and French President Francois Hollande urged Iran to accept a
deal offered by the P5+1 regarding the regimes nuclear program.
November 5: Yonhap News reports that North Korea has staged thousands of cyber attacks against South Korea in
recent years, causing $846 million in financial losses.
November 5: South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) said in a report to the National Assembly that North
Korea is using Russian technology to develop electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapons.
November 5: Bill Gertz of the Washington Free Beacon reports that the Obama Administration remains adamantly
opposed to restarting 6-party talks.
November 4: South Korean President Park Geun-hye says that North Korea should not be allowed to capitalize on
nuclear disarmament talks to earn more time to move its atomic weapons program foward.
November 4: KCNA says that China's top nuclear negotiator Wu Dawei is visiting Pyongyang a week following
meetings with U.S. officials in Washington.
October 16: Nuclear negotiations in Geneva between Iran and the P5+1 ended without a breakthrough but on a
promising note. White House press secretary Jay Carney said Iran demonstrated a "level of seriousness and
substance that we have not seen before." The EUs Catherine Ashton called the negotiations the most "substantive"
and "detailed" to date between the West and Iran.
September 26: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and the rest of the P5+1 foreign ministers met with Iranian
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in the highest-level formal talks between the U.S. and Iran in almost 35
years.
September 5: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced that Irans foreign ministry, headed by Mohammad
Javad Zarif, would take over responsibility for nuclear negotiations from the regimes national security council.
July 16: North Korean cargo ship detained in Panama after "undeclared military cargo" was discovered as ship
attempted to pass through Panama Canal.
June 19: North Korea and China call for resuption of 6-party talks.
June 6: North Korea proposes negotiations to reopen Kaesong Industrial Complex. South Korea immediately
accepts offer.
May 1: American Kenneth Bae sentenced to 15 years hard labor for "committing hostile acts" against North Korea.
April 18: North Korea's National Defense Commission outlines conditions for restarting negotiations over nuclear
program on KCNA.
April 8: North Korea withdrawls all of its workers from the Kaesong Complex.
April 6: The P5+1 and Iran failed to end a deadlock in nuclear negotiations during a new round of talks in Almaty,
Kazakhstan. No new talks were scheduled. A senior U.S. official stated that Iran is willing to take very limited steps
on its nuclear program while expecting very significant results in return.
April 5: North Korea warns western embassies and recommends them to evacuate after stating it cannot protect
diplomatic staff after April 10
April 3: North Korea blocks South Korean workers from entering the Kaesong Industrial Complex.
February 27: The P5+1 and Iran ended two days of talks in Almaty, Kazakhstan with an agreement to meet further
in March and April regarding a proposal that would limit Irans stockpile of medium-enriched uranium in exchange
for some sanctions relief. The P5+1 reportedly dropped their demand that Iran shut down its nuclear enrichment
plant at Fordow, instead seeking that Iran suspend enrichment work there and take steps to make it difficult to
quickly resume making nuclear fuel. In another concession to Tehran, the P5+1 also reportedly agreed that Iran
could keep a small amount of 20 percentenriched uranium.
North Korea
Iran
2012
Technical - Nuclear
December 12: North Korea successfully launches a Unha-3 rocket from the Sohae missile site and puts a "working
satellite" in orbit.
November 16: An IAEA report states that Iran has completed work on the underground Fordo plantfor making
enriched uranium, and is on the verge of being to triple its output of 20-percent enriched uranium. The same
report stated that Iran has unloaded fuel from the Bushehr reactor's core to its spent fuel pond.
November 11: IAEA Chief Yukiya Amano says that possible efforts to remove traces of weapons research at the
Parchin site are "ongoing." Iran denies the allegations.
November 1: Iran confirms that it has finished installing centrifuges at its underground Fordo site.
October 25: Intelligience officials say that Iran has almost completed the nuclear enrichment plant located in the
underground Fordo site.
October 8: A report issued by the Institute for Science and International Security estimates that Iran could build an
atomic bomb in as little time as ten months.
September 26: The latest UN information indicates that Iran hopes to bring its Arak reactor on line in the third
quarter of 2013.
September 20: Iran's atomic energy chief Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani states that Iran has provided false information
inrder to protect its nuclear program.
September 17: Iran's atomic energy chief Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani tells the IAEA that power lines to Iran's Fordow
plant were blown up on August 17.
September 11: Diplomats say the IAEA has new intelligience that Iran has continued its work determining the
destructive power of a nuclear warhead.
September 1: The Bushehr nuclear reactor reaches full capacity, according to Iran's deputy nuclear chief.
August 31: An IAEA report indicates that North Korea has made significant progress in the construction fo a light
water atomic reactor.
August 30: Iran's top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh returns to work after having been side-lined for several
years.
August 30: An IAEA report stated that Iran has doubled the number of centrifuges at the Fordo site from 1,000 to
2,000 in the period from May to August.
August 7: Intelligience obtained by Israel and other Western countries indicates that Iran has made greater
progress on developing its nuclear weapons program than previously thought.
July 30: Reports from Israeli newspapers indicate that Iran has significantly increased the pace of enrichment of
uranium.
July 25 : Japanese news agency Kyodo news reports that Iran and North Korea have agreed to strengthen their
collaboration on bilaterial "strategic projects," which could include nuclear and missile work.
July 25 : Japanese news agency Kyodo news reports that Iran and North Korea have agreed to strengthen their
collaboration on bilaterial "strategic projects," which could include nuclear and missile work.
July 22: Iran sends a new batch of uranium to fuel a medical research reactor in Tehran.
June 20: ISIS publishes new satellite imagery which it said showed further activity to clean up nuclear work at the
Parchin site.
June 20: Experts testifying before the House Armed Services Committee state that Iran has increased its rate of
nuclear enrichment despite cyber sabotage from the Stuxnet virus.
June 19: Iran's chief nuclear negotiator tells reporters that "We insisted on the fact that the enrichment of uranium
for peaceful purposes to all levels is the right of the Islamic Republic."
June 12: Reports from Iranian news indicate that Iran has begun designing a nuclear submarine.
June 9: North Korea says it is not planning a nuclear test "at present."
May 31: North Korea's revised constitution declares that it is a "nuclear state."
May 27: Iran's nuclear chief announces that Iran will not stop production of higher grade uranium.
May 26: ISIS releases a report stating that Iran has produced enough low-enriched uranium for five nuclear
weapons, were the uranium to be further refined.
May 25: IAEA inspectors find uranium enriched to 27% at an underground nuclear facility in Iran.
May 17: A website run by Johns Hopkins University and a former State Department Official claims that satellite
images show that North Korea has resumed construction work on an experimental light water reactor.
May 14: An image is released of an Iranian facility with an explosives chamber needed for nuclear weapons related
testing.
March 7: The Associated Press reports that satellite imagery of an Iranian military facility showed trucks at the site,
indicating a possible attempt to clean radioactive traces from the site, according to analysis by nuclear experts
accredited to the IAEA. Iran later denied that such attempts were taking place.
March 5: Analysis of satellite imagery taken in February shows progress in the construction of the light water reactor
at Yongbyon.
February 15: Iran announces that it has activated a new generation of centrifuges at its Natanz site that will speed
up its uranium enrichment process.
Technical - Missile
December 31: Iranian forces fired a purported new generation of surface-to-air missiles during a naval exercise.
November 13: Analysis of satellite imagery by 38 North, a U.S. academic website, shows additional development of November 13: Iran says it has successfully tested a new air defense system modeled after the U.S. Hawk system.
long-rage missiles by North Korea.
September 24: Iran tests medium surface to air missiles and anti-ship missiles, while also unveiling a new drone.
September 21: Iran shows off an air defense system during a military parade commemorating the beginning of the
Iran-Iraq war.
August 21: Iran claims to have upgraded the missile tested on August 4 with a quicker launch capability and longer
life. The same day, Iran announces it will be building an air defense site.
August 4: Iran claims to have tested an upgraded version of a short range ballistic missile.
July 11: A report to Congress by the Pentagon indicates that: Iran has boosted the lethality and effectiveness of
existing systems by improving accuracy and developing new submunition payloads."
July 2: Iran successfully tests a medium range missile capable of hitting Israel.
April 13: North Korea conducts a test of a long range rocket, attempting to launch the rocket into orbit. The test fails,
and the rocket breaks apart before leaving the Earth's atmosphere. Japanese media reports that a 12 member
Iranian delegation of engineers from engineers from Iran's Shahid Hemat Industrial Group (SHIG), which is
involved in missile and satellite development, secretly visited North Korea to witness the launch.
April 10: Satellite imagery shows an increase in the the amount of material adjacent to the site of North Korea's
2006 and 2009 nuclear tests, leading some to believe North Korea could be preparing another nuclear test.
March 16: North Korea announces it will launch a long range rocket in mid-April to put a satellite into orbit.
January 1: Iran tests a medium-range missile during war games. On the same day, Iran also tests its first
domestically produced nuclear fuel rod.
United Nations
September 11: The IAEA approves by a vote of 31-1-3 a resolution criticizing Iran and expressing "serious concern
that Iran continues to defy" UN Security Council resolutions to suspend uranium enrichment and notes activities at
the Parchin base that the IAEA says will "significantly hamper" inspectors.
September 5: The IAEA shows diplomats images of suspected nuclear clean up at an Iranian military site.
August 29: The IAEA approves the creation of a special "task force" to better monitor Iran's nuclear program.
August 24: Diplomats tell the Associated Press that Iran has shrouded a building the IAEA believes was used for
work on atomic weapons. The next day, the IAEA, which had been pushing for access to the site at Parchin, stated
that Iran had "sanitized" the site to the point where there would be little point in inspecting it.
August 24: Talks take place in Vienna between Iran and the IAEA to discuss "outstanding issues" related to Iran's
nuclear program. The discussions are later described as having "failed," with no plans for another meeting
announced at their conclusion.
May: The UNs World Intellectual Property Organization is discovered to have shipped sensitive technology to Iran
and North Korea in possible violation of UN Security Council sanctions.
May: The UNs World Intellectual Property Organization is discovered to have shipped sensitive technology to Iran
and North Korea in possible violation of UN Security Council sanctions.
May 22: The IAEA and Iran reach an agreement during talks in Tehran allowing the IAEA access to the Parchin
military complex.
April 16: The Security Council condemns North Korea's 4/13 rocket launch.
March 5: IAEA head Yukiya Amano says that Iran has tripled its monthly production of higher grade enriched
uranium, and that the IAEA has "serious concerns" about possible military dimensions to Iran's military activities.
February 24: According to an IAEA report, Iran has rapidly ramped up production of higher grade enriched uranium,
while failing to account for a quantity of missing uranium metal, which would be large enough for experiments in
arming a nuclear missile.
February 22: IAEA officials visit Iran and are denied access to key military sites. No agreement is reached between
IAEA officials and Iranian officials on a document facilitating the clarification of unresolved issues in connection
with Irans nuclear program, according to a statement by the IAEA.
January 9: The IAEA confirms reports that Iran has begun uranium enrichment to a fissile purity of 20 percent at an
underground bunker.
Diplomatic
October 25: EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton agrees to discuss next steps for nuclear talks with Iran's chief
nuclear negotiatior Saeed Jalili.
September 18: Iran's chief nuclear negotiatior Saeed Jalili meets with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton to
discuss restarting negotiations over Iran's nuclear program.
September 1: Iran and North Korea sign a scientific and technological cooperation agreement.
September 1: Iran and North Korea sign a scientific and technological cooperation agreement.
July 3: Low level talks take place between Iran and the P5+1 in Istanbul. The talks recessed the next day without
progress.
May 23-24: A second round of talks take place between the P5+1 and Iran. The talks again recess without
agreement, with an additional round scheduled to take place in Moscow in June.
April 17: After international condemnation following the failed missile launch, the Korean Central News Agency
quoted the Foreign Ministry as saying that North Korea was able to take necessary retaliatory measures, free from
(the Leap Day) agreement, implying that the Leap Day agreement was no longer valid.
April 14: Talks between Iran and the United States, Germany, France, Britain, China, and Russia resume in Istanbul.
Talks adjourned without agreement.
April 12: Ahmadinejad says Iran will not surrender its nuclear rights.
March 9: P5 + 1 issue a statement urging Iran to grant IAEA inspectors access to Parchin, which the IAEA had
previously said possessed a containment chamber that may be used for nuclear weapons related testing.
February 29: The State Department announces that North Korea has agreed to a moratorium on enrichment
activities at Yongbyon and a return of international inspectors to verify compliance.
February 25: North Korea threatens sacred war over annual U.S.-South Korean joint military exercises even while
demanding that U.S. negotiators in Beijing insert a phrase regarding the U.S. having no hostile intent towards
North Korea in the Leap Day agreement being negotiated.
February 23: United States and North Korean officials meet in Beijing for talks on North Korea's nuclear program.
North Korea
Iran
2011
Technical - Nuclear
September 3: Bushehr plant begins supplying electricity to the national grid.
August 22: Iran says it is transferring its centrifuges from Natanz to the underground facility at Fordo.
June 8: Iran says it will triple production of higher grade uranium, and shift production to an underground bunker.
April 9: Iran announces the production and testing of second and third generation centrifuges.
April 8: Nuclear fuel is loaded into the reactor at Bushehr.
February 10: Director of National Intelligience James Clapper testifies before HPSCI that, based on the likely
prospect that North Korea has been pursuing enrichment activities for an extended period of time, "there is clear
prospect that DPRK has built other uranium enrichment related facilities in its territory, including likely R&D and
centrifuge fabrication facilities, and other enrichment facilities."
Technical - Missile
April 15: A mobile rocket-launcher, which could be of Chinese origin, appears in the military parade in Pyongyang
commemorating the 100th anniversary of North Koreas founder. This raises the question of whether Beijing has
been violating UN-imposed sanctions on North Korea.
United Nations
November 18: IAEA censures Iran over evidence that Iran is attempting to develp an atom bomb, with no further
sanctions.
November 8: The IAEAs quarterly report provides evidence that Iran is engaged in the process of developing a
nuclear weapon. The report shows that Iran has not suspended its enrichment activities (violating Security Council
resolutions) and is engaged in activities relevant to the development of a nuclear device, such as warhead design
and testing triggering devices. The IAEA passes a resolution criticizing Irans nuclear activity, but does not call for
new sanctions or recommend penalties.
September 2: The IAEA releases a report stating that it is increasingly concerned about the possible existence in
Iran of undisclosed nuclear related activities, including those related to the development of a nuclear payload for a
missile.
August 23: Iran allows deputy director of the IAEA to view a facility for developing advanced uranium enrichment
machines.
May 24: An IAEA report states that Iran has not suspended its enrichment or heavy water related activities (contrary
to resolutions of the Board of Governors and the Security Council). The report indicates Iran conducted work on
nuclear triggering technology with potential military applications.
May 14: A leaked report shows Iran and North Korea appeared to exchange ballistic missile technology, violating
sanctions.
Diplomatic
December 17: Kim Jong Il dies. He is succeeded by his son Kim Jong Un.
November 30: A spokesman for North Korea's Foreign Ministry tells state news "the construction of an experimental
light-water reactor and the low-enriched uranium for the provision of raw materials are progressing apace".
October 25: The United States and North Korea conclude talks on steps to resume six party talks without agreement.
July 29: North Korea and the United States hold talks at the US Mission to the UN.
March 15: North Korea tells Russia envoy it is willing to discuss its uranium enrichment program if six party talks
resume.
January 21: Iran does not make any concessions in the six power talks. No further talks are planned.
North Korea
Iran
2010
Technical - Nuclear
December 5: Iranian nuclear chief states that Iran will use domestically produced yellowcake for the first time, which
will reduce reliance on imports.
November 20: Dr. Siegried Hecker reports that North Korean officials showed his delegation what they claimed was
an operating gas centrifuge uranium enrichment plant at the Yongbyon nuclear site. Dr. Hecker estimates that the
plant had 2,000 centrifuges (most likely P-2 centrifuges) in six cascades, with a capacity of 8,000 kg SWU/year.
October 26: Iran begins loading fuel into the core of its nuclear reactor. The plant was formally opened in August
but the work of actaully loading the reactor core had been delayed.
October 20: Iran's nuclear chief says Iran has 30 kg of uranium enriched to 20%- almost twice the amount reported
in June.
October 19: Iran steps up uranium exploration.
August 15: Iran plans to build a third nuclear enrichment plant that would not be vulnerable to air strikes.
August 12: An Iranian official says that the country is ready to launch its first nuclear power plant located in Bushehr.
August 9: ISIS reports that Iran has begun using its second cascade to produce 20% enriched uranium more
efficiently.
April 19: Iran says it will work on a new enrichment plant.
April 9: Iran announces new, faster centrifuges.
February 11: Iran claims to have enriched uranium to 20%, confirming an IAEA report that it intended to do so. Until
now, Iran has produced uranium enriched to 3.5% for power stations. Western powers fear Iran is heading towards
enriching uranium to 90% to produce a nuclear weapon.
Technical - Missile
February 2: Ahmadinejad announces that Iran will send its enriched uranium abroad. The next day, Iran launches a
Kavoshgar-3 rocket capable of carrying a satellite.
United Nations
December 3: US Ambassador to the IAEA Glyn Davies tells the IAEA Board of Governors that the US believes it is
likely that other clandestine uranium enrichment facilities exist in North Korea other than Yongbyon.
November 23: An IAEA report inducates that Iran told the IAEA that 28 cascades are enriching uranium. Iran tells
inspectors it has produced 7,017 pounds of LEU since February 2007, enough for two atom bombs if enriched to
90% fissile purity.
November 12: UN report staties that North Korea is supplying banned nuclear and ballistic equipment to Iran,
Syria, and Burma (Myanmar) using 'surreptitious' means to avoid sanctions.
November 8: The head of the IAEA says that Iran has still not given proof that its atomic program is peaceful.
September 24: Ahmadinejad addresses the UN in Geneva.
September 13: Iran bars two key IAEA nuclear inspectors.
September 6: IAEA reports conclude that Iran has amassed 22 KGs of uranium enriched to 20%.
August 1: Mohammad Khazai, Iran's envoy to the UN, says "If the Zionist regime commits the slightest aggression
against the Iranian soil, we will set the entire war front and Tel Aviv on fire" by Farhang-e Ashti, a government-run
newspaper.
June 9: The Security Council approves a fourth round of sanctions against Iran in Resolution 1929.
June 1: IAEA reports Iran has enough enriched uranium for two nuclear bombs.
May 31: IAEA Board of Governors Report (GOV/2010/28) indicates that there are over 8,000 centrifuges operating at
Natanz, with production of 2,427KG of Low Enriched Uranium and 5.7KG of uranium enriched to 20% .
February 18: An IAEA report suggests that Iran may be actively seeking nuclear weapons capability.
Diplomatic
December 6: Talks begin in Geneva between Iran's nuclear negotiator and the EU's Catherine Ashton.
November 23: North Korea shells a South Korean island in one of the fiercest attacks since the Korean War,
resulting in South Korean casualties.
October 13: Ahmadinejad visits Lebanon and addresses a Hizballah rally.
October 7: Bahrain's ambassador to the United States tells The Washington Times that she fears her country - home
to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet - could become the first casualty of a nuclear-armed Iran.
September 26: Iranian official denies that the Stuxnet virus has hit Iran's nuclear site or softwares.
August 16: Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad signs a bill obliging the government to press ahead with
uranium enrichment while limiting cooperation with the IAEA. The bill calls for continued enrichment of uranium
up to 20%. LEU fuel typically enriched to levels of less than 5%.
July 24: North Korea's National Defense Commission threatens to wage a "sacred war" against the United States
and South Korea if the two nations go ahead with scheduled naval maneuvers in the Sea of Japan.
July 1: Obama signs into law tough new unilateral sanctions against Iran.
May 19: South Korea blames North Korea for attack on warship.
May 12: Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman states, while during a visit to Tokyo, that a North Korean arms shipment
seized at Bangkoks airport the past December were destined for Hezbollah.
April: South Korea announces that a torpedo was likely to have been responsible for sinking a South Korean warship
near the tense North Korean border last week, Pyongyang denies involvement in sinking of ship.
January 19: Iran formally rejects the deal to send abroad the materials that could be used to make nuclear warms.
North Korea
Iran
2009
Technical - Nuclear
December 14: The Times of London reports that it has obtained notes describing a four-year plan by Iran to test a
trigger for a nuclear bomb.
November 29: Iran announces plans to build ten nuclear sites.
September 25: President Obama announces that Iran is building an underground uranium enrichment facility
whose size and configuration is inconsistent with a peaceful program.
May 25: North Korea conducts second nuclear test, first test since President Obama's inauguration.
April 9: Ahmadinejad inaugurates Iran's first nuclear fuel plan near Isfahan.
Technical - Missile
December 16: Iran test fires an upgraded version of its most advanced Sejil-2 long-range missile.
September 28: Iran successfully test fires its most advanced medium-range Shahab-3 and Saijil missiles in the third
phase of a two day exercise. Iran's Foreign Ministry denied there was any connection between the tests and a
dispute with the United States and other nations over a newly disclosed underground uranium enrichment plant
July 4: North Korea launches seven Scud type ballistic missiles off of its Eastern coast.
May 20: Pentagon confirms Iranian missile test. Iran tests a medium range Saijil-2 two phase solid fuel ballistic
missile with a range of 2,000-2,500 km. The missile was the longest range solid propellant missile Iran has
launched yet, raising concerns that Tehran's missile program is becoming more sophisticated.
April 5: DPRK launches Taepodong-2 three stage rocket in an attempt to put a satellite in orbit. Experts believe the
launch was a failure, however the US says the launch may be a cover up for a ballistic missile program
United Nations
November 27: The IAEA's board censures Iran for developing the facility near Qom in secret and calls for Iran to stop
the project. Iran refuses.
October 30: Iran tells the IAEA that it will not agree to ship uranium stocks abroad unless it receives nuclear fuel for
a reactor in Tehran.
October 25: Inspectors from the IAEA arrive in Iran to visit the recently-disclosed uranium enrichment facility near
Qom.
October 21: The IAEA proposes a deal to reduce Iran's supply of enriched uranium.
September 21: Iran informs IAEA that it is building a second uranium enrichment plant and the project is underway
near the city of Qom. IAEA says that Iran defied the NPT agreement by failing to disclose construction of facility at an
earlier phase.
June 12: The UN Security Council unanimously adopts Resolution 1874 imposing additional commercial and
economic sanctions on North Korea after its second nuclear test.
Diplomatic
December 12: Thais seize plane with shipment of 35 tons of North Korean weapons, including anti aircraft missiles.
The flight plan shows that its ultimate destination was Iran.
November 19: President Obama warns Irana that there will be consequences if Iran fails to respond to the nuclear
deal.
October 1: During a meeting in Geneva, Iran approves in principle to send 75 percent of its low-enriched uranium
to Russia and France where it would be converted into a special fuel for a reactor in Iran making medical materials.
August 29: The UAE seizes a ship carrying North Korean-manufactured munitions, detonators, explosives and rocketpropelled grenades bound for Iran
September 9: The U.S. Ambassador to the IAEA Glyn Davies says that Iran is now either very near or in possession of
enough low-enriched uranium to make one nuclear weapon.
August 4: Former President Clinton travels to Pyongyang to win the release of the two U.S. journalists and meets
with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
March 31: Five U.S.-based NGOs distributing food assistance in North Korea are expelled from the country.
March 19: Top-ranked Iranian defector tells the U.S.that Iran was financing North Korean efforts to build Syria a
nuclear reactor.
March 17: North Korea apprehend two U.S. journalists filming a documentary on refugees on the Chinese side of
the Sino-North Korean border, taking them into North Korea.
March 1:Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, states Iran has likely enriched enough uranium to
make an atom bomb, and that our time to stop them is running out.
North Korea
Iran
2008
Technical - Nuclear
December: North Korea reneges on the verification process on de-nuclearization verbally agreed to with U.S.
negotiator Chris Hill in exchange for removal from the terrorism list and the U.S.-North Korean bilateral negotiating
process collapses.
June 27: North Korea blows up the cooling tower at its Yongbyon nuclear plant, in front of international media and
U.S. officials, including the current U.S. Ambassador to South Korea in order to demonstrate its commitment to
denuclearization.
June 21: German newsmagazine Der Spiegel reports that the al-Kibar reactor in northern Syria, destroyed by an
Israeli airstrike in September 2007, was a locus of nuclear cooperation between Iran, North Korea, and Syria.
June: In what is seen as a key step in the denuclearization process, North Korea makes its long-awaited declaration
of its nuclear assets.
April 24: CIA officials brief Congress about evidence that Syria had received help from North Korea to buid a nuclear
reactor, destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in September 07. The evidence shown to Congress is said to include
photographs and video, taken by Israeli intelligence, of North Korean technicians assiting in construction of the site.
April 8: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad states that Iran has begun installing an additional 6,000 centrifuges at Natanz.
Technical - Missile
November 12: Iran fires Saijil, a new generation of surface to surface missile using solid fuel, making it more
accurate then its predecessors.
August 17: Iran launches a Safir-2 rocket capable of carrying a satellite into space. This rocket-launch is troubling
because the technology could be diverted to ballistic missiles.
July 8: Iran tests at least 7 missiles including a Shahab-3 missile with a range of 2,000km. The Shahab-3 has a
range long enough to hit Israel, South Eastern Europe, and US military bases in the Persian Gulf.
United Nations
December: The U.S. suspends cooperation in food assistance distribution with the World Food Program (WFP), a UN
agency, due to concerns about WFP monitoring inside North Korea.
May 26: IAEA report states that Iran has not addressed it concerns. It also describes a Green Salt project under
which Iran has tested relevant high explosives and missile re-entry vehicles.
April 18: IAEA Director General Mohammed ElBaradei says that Iran is running about 3,000 centrifuges, considered
a threshold number that could allow Iran to enrich enough uranium for a nuclear weapon. Iran agrees to address
IAEA concerns.
March 3: Resolution 1308, which has taken months to negotiate, passes the Security Council. It: (1) bans the sale of
dual use technology to Iran; (2) permits, but does not obligate, inspections of Iranian cargo; (3) bans the travel of
certain named individuals; (4) calls for a ban on transactions with two Iranian banks; (5) adds additional assets to be
frozen. Though it does not have a substantial effect on trade with Iran, and its provisions are weaker than the US and
UK had hoped for, the US agrees to it for the sake of international unity in confronting Iran. Iran responds with
defiance.
February 22: An IAEA report declares that Iran is testing a new generation of centrifuges. Press photos of
Ahmadinejads visit to Natanz on April 22 will come to verify this.
Diplomatic
October 11: North Korea is removed from the list of nations designated by the Secretary of State as state sponsors
of terrorism in keeping with a pledge for removal that President Bush made on June 26 of that same year.
August: It is subsequently revealed that some time during the month of August North Korean leader Kim Jong-il
suffered a debilitating stroke; concerns first arise over the North Korean succession issue.
June 14: Solana formally presents P5+1 offer to Iran, which mandates suspension of enrichment before the
resumption of negotiations. Iran immediately rejects the offer.
May 2: Meeting in London, P5+1 offer Iran refreshed incentives, proposing greater political and energy
cooperation.
May: Iran and Syria sign memorandum of cooperation on behalf of their "independence and territorial integrity."
April 16: P5+1 meet in Shanghai.
March-April: North-South relations deteriorate sharply. North Korea expels Southern managers from joint industrial
base, test-fires short-range missiles, and accuses President Lee Myung-bak of sending a warship into Northern
waters.
February: South Korea's new conservative President Lee Myung-bak says aid to North Korea is conditioned on
nuclear disarmament and human rights progress.
January: US says North Korea has failed to meet the end of 2007 deadline on declaring nuclear activities. China
urges North Korea to honour its commitments.
North Korea
Iran
2007
Technical - Nuclear
December 17: Russia begins shipping nuclear fuel to Iran. By June 2008, Iran will have received at least seven
shipments, enough to become operational. Russia has also trained about 700 Iranian nuclear engineers.
December 4: US envoy to North Korea Christopher Hill visits the Yongbyon facility and says progress on disabling it
is "going well".
November 29: Iran states that it has produced a new midget submarine equipped with sonar-evading technology. It
may have been purchased, either assembled or in kit form, from North Korea.
November 6: US nuclear experts announce that they have made a "good start" disabling the reactor.
November: Russia takes steps to fuel the reactor at Bushehr.
October 11: A team of nuclear experts arrives in North Korea to supervise the dismantling of nuclear facilities.
October 3: Chinese officials announce North Korea has agreed to disable its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon and
disclose full details of its nuclear program by the end of the year.
September 7: Israel destroys in an air strike a nuclear reactor in the Syrian desert, suspected of having been
constructed with North Korean technical assistance.
September 2: The US says Pyongyang has agreed to declare and disable all its nuclear facilities by the end of the
year.
April 14: North Korea misses the deadline to "shut down and seal" its Yongbyon nuclear reactor in exchange for
energy aid, saying the banking problem must be fixed first.
April 9: Ahmadinejad announces that Iran can produce nuclear fuel on an industrial scale.
January 21: North Korean Foreign Ministry denies report in the Daily Telegraph that North Korea is helping Iran
prepare to conduct an underground nuclear test.
United Nations
November 15: IAEA report states that Iran has made some declarations related to its past activities, but fewer
regarding its current ones.
September 28: P5+1 and EU agree to put forward another Security Council sanctions resolution if Iran does not
abide by its August agreement with the IAEA.
August: Iran agrees to IAEA demand that it clarify questions related to its existing nuclear program by the end of
2007, but this agreement does not make stipulations regarding future Iranian activities.
July 14: North Korea tells the US it has shut down its nuclear reactor after receiving the first shipments of heavy fuel
oil. IAEA inspectors arrive for a monitoring visit to Yongbyon, later confirming that Yongbyon has been shut down.
June 26: IAEA inspectors are allowed in North Korea for the first time since 2002.
March 13: While in Pyongyang for talks, Mohamed ElBaradei says North Korea is "fully committed" to giving up its
nuclear program.
March 8: P5+1 meet in London to plan a new UNSC resolution.
February 21: IAEA reports that Iran has continued enriching uranium in violation of Res. 1737.
Diplomatic
December 10: Ali Larijani, former Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, tells Tehran University
students that our stance is different from that of North Korea; North Korea was seeking to build [nuclear] weapons,
but we are not; we do not believe that it [a nuclear weapon] will be a highly significant thing for the country,
because it undermines the world's peace of mind.
December 6: US President Bush sends a letter to Kim Jong-il urging him to comply with North Korea's promise to
disclose full details of its nuclearprogram. President Bush, who had previously referred to Kim Jong-il as a tyrant
uses Kims party title of Mr. Chairman in addressing him.
November 30: Solana describes his meeting with new Iranian negotiator Sayed Jallili as disappointing.
September 5: Meeting with the North Korean Foreign Minister in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Mottaki
welcomed efforts made by the other side to pave the way for a visit to Tehran by Korean Leader Kim Jong Il to
further expand the two countries' mutual relations and cooperation. The minister further noted the abundant
proper grounds for the two countries' economic and trade cooperation, and called for the two nations' joint activity
in such grounds as auto-manufacturing, mining, and house construction industries as well as scientific and research
projects and technical and engineering services.
September 3: North Korea says Washington has agreed to remove North Korea's name from a list of countries that
sponsor terrorism.
August 8: Iranian First Vice President Parviz Davoudi, meeting with the North Korean Foreign Trade Minister, states
that commerce, trade, industry, technological know-how, scientific activities, and implementation of joint projects
are among suitable grounds for broadening mutual ties. He further states that the oppressed nations would
someday get rid of tyrannical powers, he said, adding that the Iranian nation and its government by adopting
logical stands and through resistance have brought the global arrogance to its knees.
August 4: Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham says that in contrast to North Korean, Iran has
adopted a legal and systematic approach on its peaceful nuclear activities, made its commitments based on the
International Atomic Energy Agency's Safeguards and has moved on a completely legal track under the agency
supervision.
June 25: North Korea confirms it has received the funds.
June 12: Russia offers to facilitate the fund transfer, transfer is carried out via the Federal Reserve bank in New York.
May 11: Signing a memorandum of cooperation with the North Korean Vice Foreign Minister, Iranian Foreign
Minister Manouchehr Mottaki states "the Iranian government is interested in expansion of ties with North Korea in
various political, economic and cultural fields," he said while pointing to determination of the two countries' senior
officials to continue amicable relations and cooperation. The North Korean Foreign Minister declares that North
Korea is aware of the importance of bolstering ties with Iran and will support Tehran at the international circles and
Iran's right to access to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and voiced his country's readiness to further boost
cooperation with Iran in various economic fields.
March 22: Six-party talks to discuss progress on the 13 February deal are delayed after North Korea says it is unable
to access its funds in a Macau bank.
March 15: The US ends an inquiry into the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia, the first step for a block on North Korea's
accounts to be lifted.
March 5: Iranian daily Ayande-ye Now reports that a small number of Iranian policymakers believe that Iran should
go directly to America and instead of talking with the Europeans, negotiate with America and like North Korea,
resolve its problems. The group believe[s] that interacting with America provided the possibility of giving and
receiving concessions while at the same time one could resumes one's activities following the negotiations and
their outcome.
February 15: Deputy Majles Speaker Mohammed Reza Bahonor tells reformist website Aftab that the Islamic
Republic of Iran only seeks nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, while North Korea's motives have been
military.
February 13: North Korea agrees during talks to take the first steps towards nuclear disarmament.
February 12: EU Foreign Ministers agree to freeze assets of the Iranian individuals named in Res. 1737.
February 8: Six-Party nuclear talks resume in Beijing.
January 9: Japan's PM Shinzo Abe says Japan cannot tolerate a nuclear-armed North Korea and calls for closer
international cooperation to prevent a nuclear North Korea.
January 6: Ala'eddin Borujerdi, head of Majles National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, tells Islamic
Republic News Agency that the US should engage with a nuclear Iran. Contrasting Iran to North Korea, he says that
we have practically gained our rights and have nuclear fuel cycle in our possession; we extract uranium ourselves;
we produce yellow cake and hexafluoride uranium ourselves; we make centrifuges ourselves; we do the
enrichment ourselves and the IAEA too has taken its samples and confirmed them; so, we are different from a
country which has recently been pursuing nuclear technology; the West should understand this. I do not at all wish
to compare Iran with North Korea because we are not at all after non-peaceful use of nuclear energy; I mean the way
the UNSC deals with North Korea."
North Korea
Iran
2006
Technical - Nuclear
October 16: US intelligence officials announce that air samples gathered from the test site contain radioactive
materials indicating that North Korea carried out an underground nuclear explosion of less than 1 kiloton.
October 9: North Korea claims to have completed its first test of a nuclear weapon safely and successfully.
October 3: North Korea's foreign ministry announces that it plans to conduct a nuclear test to "bolster" its selfdefense in the face of US military hostility, the Foreign Ministry says.
April 11: Iran claims to have enriched urnaium to 3.5 percent purity.
January: Iran resumes enrichment activities.
Technical - Missile
July 5: North Korea test-fires at least six missiles, including a long-range Taepodong-2. Later that day, ignoring
international condemnation of its previous launches, North Korea test-fires a seventh missile.
United Nations
December 23: The Security Council unanimously agrees to Resolution 1737, which prohibits the sale of advanced
technology to Iran by UN member states and calls for the freezing of Iranian assets. An exception is made for the
Russian-built reactor at Bushehr, and no travel prohibitions are sought against named individuals. It also demands
the suspension of uranium enrichment by February 21, 2007.
October 14: The UN Security Council votes unanimously to impose weapons and financial sanctions on North Korea
over its nuclear test. Resolution 1718 demands that North Korea eliminate its nuclear weapons, weapons of mass
destruction, and ballistic missiles, allowing nations to inspect cargo moving in and out of North Korea to check for
non-conventional weapons. However, the resolution is not backed by the threat of force. The resolution calls for
North Korea to return "without precondition" to Six-Party talks on its nuclear program.
July 31: The Security Council votes in favor of Resolution 1696, which sets a deadline of August 31 for Iran to fulfill
IAEA demands. The resolution was in accordance with Article 40 of the UN charter, which stipulates compliance but
does not entail economic sanctions or possible military actions.
July 15: The UN Security Council unanimously votes in Resolution 1695 to sanction North Korea over the missile
tests, demanding that UN members bar exports and imports of missile-related materials to North Korea and that
North Korea end its ballistic missile program.
March 29: The Security Council agrees to a council president statement setting a 30-day time limit for Iran to
suspend enrichment.
February 4: IAEA again votes to report Iran to the Security Council.
Diplomatic
December 22: Talks end without progress.
December 18: Six-Party talks resume in Beijing.
October 31: China announces that Six-Party talks will resume, following a meeting between envoys from the US,
North Korea, and China.
September 28: Solana-led P5+1 talks on behalf of a temporary suspension of enrichment fail in Berlin.
August 6: Iran rejects the P5+1 offer, especially the demand for immediate suspension of uranium enrichment.
Iran calls for more comprehensive negotiations, and a provision that the US will not seek regime change.
October 21: Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi differentiates between the Iranian and North Korean nuclear
programs, saying that Iran in its nuclear programs has made international commitments, while North Korea has
not only left the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) but has also vowed to continue its military nuclear
activities.
October 21: Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi differentiates between the Iranian and North Korean nuclear
programs, saying that Iran in its nuclear programs has made international commitments, while North Korea has
not only left the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) but has also vowed to continue its military nuclear
activities.
September 27: North Korea blames US financial sanctions in the Banco Delta Asia action for the deadlock in
multilateral talks on its nuclear program.
September 11: Senior US diplomat Christopher Hill says that a North Korean nuclear test would be a provocative
act.
July 7: South Korea suspends food aid in response to the missile tests.
July 3: A White House spokesman dismisses as "deeply hypothetical" the threat by North Korea that it will launch a
nuclear strike against the US in the event of an American attack.
June 6: EU representative Javier Solana formally presents the P5+1 offer to Iran. The incentives are: (1)
negotiations on EU-Iran trade agreements and Iranian accession into the WTO; (2) lifting of US sanctions to permit
commercial aircraft and aircraft part sales; (3) sale of light-water nuclear reactor and nuclear fuel; (4) energy
partnership between Iran and E.U; (5) support for Persian Gulf regional security forum; (6) possibility for Iran to
resume uranium enrichment for civilian purposes if it eventually meets all IAEA requirements. The sanctions are:
(1) denial of visas to Iranians involved in the nuclear program; (2) freezing of Iranian assets; (2) banning of
technology, arms, and gasoline sales; (4) abandonment of support of Iranian accession to the WTO.
June 1: P5+1 negotiating group formed from the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany.
May 31: As a result of opposition from Russia and China to punish Iran, and in order to build support for
multilateral sanctions, the US government offers to join the EU-3 talks with Iran if it first suspends uranium
enrichment.
April 12: A two-day meeting to persuade North Korea to return to talks on its nuclear program does not produce
results.
North Korea
Iran
2005
Technical - Nuclear
December 20: North Korea says it intends to resume building nuclear reactors because the US pulled out of a key
deal to build it two new reactors.
August 8: Iran breaks IAEA seals at Isfahan and begins uranium conversion, the stage before enrichment.
May 11: North Korea anounces the completion of extraction of spent fuel rods from Yongbyon, as part of plans to
"increase its nuclear arsenal".
April 18: South Korea says North Korea has shut down its Yongbyon reactor, which could allow it to extract more fuel
for nuclear weapons.
Technical - Missile
May 1: North Korea fires a short-range missile into the Sea of Japan.
United Nations
2006-2008: IAEA says that it cannot verify that Irans program is purely peaceful. IAEA reports cite documents that
show that the Iranian military is closely involved in the countrys nuclear program.
September 24: IAEA determines that Iran is in non-compliance with the NPT and refers the issue to the Security
Council, but without a time limit.
Diplomatic
November 11: Fifth round of Six-Party talks ends without progress.
November: Russia proposes that Iran establish a facility in Russia to conduct its own uranium enrichment. Iran
rejects this proposal, and puts advertisements in US newspapers claiming that its nuclear program is for electricity
generation.
September 20: North Korea says it will not scrap its nuclear program until it is given a civilian nuclear reactor,
undermining the joint statement.
September 19: In a joint statement, North Korea agrees to give up all its nuclear activities and rejoin the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty, while the US says it has no intention of attacking North Korea.
September 13: Talks resume, but a new North Korean request to be built a light water reactor prompts threats of a
"standoff".
August 7: The talks reach deadlock and a recess is called.
August 6: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is elected president of Iran. The Paris Agreement breaks down shortly thereafter,
when his regime rejects as insufficient the EU-3 offer to help Iran develop civilian nuclear energy and certain
security guarantees in exchange for (1) suspension of uranium enrichment, (2) closure of the Arak heavy water
reactor, (3) agreement to no-notice nuclear inspections, and (4) affirmation that the regime would not abandon the
Non-Proliferation Treaty.
July 25: Fourth round of Six-Party talks begins in Beijing.
July 12: South Korea offers the North huge amounts of electricity as an incentive to end its nuclear weapons
program.
July 9: North Korea says it will rejoin nuclear talks.
March 11: The Bush administration declares that it will support the EU-3 position by offering to drop its objection to
Iranian accession to the WTO and reconsidering the ban on civilian aircraft part sales to Iran.
February 28: Russia signs an agreement with Iran to take back spent nuclear material.
February 10: North Korea says it is suspending its participation in the talks over its nuclear program because of the
United States' intention to "antagonize, isolate and stifle it at any cost". The statement repeats North Korea's claim
to have built nuclear weapons for self-defense.
January 14: North Korean state news announces North Korea is willing to restart talks on its nuclear program.
January: EU-3 and Iran enter into talks on a trade and cooperation accord (TCA).
North Korea
Iran
2004
Technical - Nuclear
September 28: North Korea says it has turned plutonium from 8,000 spent fuel rods into nuclear weapons, which
are needed for weapons "self-defense" against the "US nuclear threat".
September 28: North Korea says it has turned plutonium from 8,000 spent fuel rods into nuclear weapons, which
are needed for weapons "self-defense" against the "US nuclear threat".
September: ISIS releases satellite photographs of the military site at Parchin.
January 22: US nuclear scientist Siegfried Hecker tells Congress that the delegates visiting Yongbyon were shown
what appeared to be weapons-grade plutonium, but did not see any evidence of a nuclear bomb.
United Nations
May 23: The IAEA investigates allegations that North Korea secretly sent uranium to Libya.
February 24: IAEA again reports that Iran had violated its Non-Proliferation Treaty obligations over an 18-year
period.
Diplomatic
December 13: EU-3 and Iran enter into negotiations on a permanent nuclear pact.
November 14: EU-3 and Iran reach the Paris Agreement, committing Iran to suspend uranium enrichment in
exchange for renewed trade talks and other aid.
July 2: Secretary of State Colin Powell meets North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun, the highest-level talks
between the two countries since the crisis erupted.
June 23: Six-Party talks are held in Beijing. The US makes a new offer to allow North Korea fuel aid if it freezes and
subsequently dismantles its nuclear programs.
January 10: An unofficial US team visits Yongbyon.
North Korea
Iran
2003
Technical - Nuclear
October 16: North Korea says it will display its nuclear deterrent.
October 2: North Korea announces it has reprocessed the spent fuel rods.
July 9: South Korea's spy agency says North Korea has started reprocessing a "small number" of the 8,000 spent
nuclear fuel rods at Yongbyon.
June 9: North Korea says it will build a nuclear deterrent, "unless the US gives up its hostile policy".
April 18: North Korea announces that it has started reprocessing its spent fuel rods, although the statement is later
amended to say Pyongyang has been "successfully going forward to reprocess" the rods.
February 5: North Korea announces reactivation of its nuclear facilities with operations proceeding "on a normal
footing."
January 31: US officials are quoted as saying that spy satellites have tracked movement at Yongbyon throughout
January, prompting fears that North Korea is trying to reprocess plutonium for nuclear bombs.
Technical - Missile
October 13: Russia announces that plans to start the Bushehr reactor are delayed for technical reasons.
March 10: North Korea fires a second missile into the sea between South Korea and Japan.
February 24: North Korea launches a missile into the sea between South Korea and Japan.
United Nations
November 26: The IAEA passes a resolution censuring Iran, but does not call for sanctions.
November 10-11: Iran states it is suspending uranium enrichment. The IAEA reports Iran admitted to producing
plutionium, but says there is no evidence Iran is trying to build a bomb.
October 31: The IAEA says Iran has given a "comprehensive" declaration of its nuclear activities.
July: IAEA begins new inspections in Iran.
June 16: IAEA chief Mohammed ElBaradei says that "Iran failed to report certain materials and activities" and calls
for "cooperative actions" by Iran. However, Iran is not said to be in breach of the Non-Proliferation treaty.
April 9: The Security Council expresses concern about North Korea's nuclear program, but does not condemn
Pyongyang for withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.
February 12: The IAEA determines North Korea violated nuclear safeguards and refers the matter to the UN Security
Council.
February: The IAEA begins a series of inspections in Iran. Iran insists the sites at Natanz, Arak, and Bushehr are
designed to produce fuel for future power plants.
January 6: The IAEA passes calls for North Korea to admit UN inspectors and abandon its secret nuclear weapons
program "within weeks", or face possible action by the Security Council.
Diplomatic
December 18: Iran signs the Additional Protocol, but the Majles does not ratify it.
December 9: The U.S. rejects North Koreas offer to "freeze" its nuclear program in return for a list of concessions.
October 30: North Korea agrees to resume talks on its nuclear program.
October 21: In return for peaceful, civilian nuclear technology, Iran pledges (1) to fully disclose its past nuclear
activities, (2) to sign and ratify the Additional Protocol to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and (3) to suspend uranium
enrichment activities.
September: Washington states that Iran is not complying with international non-proliferation agreements.
August 27-29: Six-Party talks in Beijing on North Korea's nuclear program end without agreement.
August 1: North Korea agrees to Six-Party talks on its nuclear program with South Korea, the US, Japan, China and
Russia.
June 2: A congressional delegation led by Curt Weldon says North Korean officials admitted they had nuclear
weapons.
May 12: North Korea says it is scrapping a 1992 agreement with the South to keep the peninsula free from nuclear
weapons - Pyongyang's last remaining international agreement on non-proliferation.
April 24: Talks between the U.S. and North Korea end a day early, as American officials say Pyongyang has told them
that it has nuclear weapons.
April 23: The US and North Korea hold talks in Beijing.
April 12: North Korea signals it may be ready to end its insistence on direct talks with the US.
January 10: North Korea announces it will withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
North Korea
Iran
2002
Technical - Nuclear
December 25: It is discovered that North Korea has begun shipping fuel rods to Yongbyon which could be used to
produce plutonium.
December 24: North Korea begins repairs at Yongbyon.
December 22: North Korea begins removing monitoring devices from Yongbyon.
December 12: North Korea threatens to reactivate nuclear facilities for energy generation after the US halts oil
shipments.
October 17: North Korean Leader Kim Jong-il says he will allow international weapons inspectors to check that
nuclear facilities are not in use.
September: Russia prepares to build a reactor near Bushehr.
August: The Peoples Mujahedin of Iran alleges that Iran is building a uranium enrichment facility at Natanz and a
heavy water production plant at Arak. The Iranian government later confirms these allegations.
Technical - Missile
December 11: North Korean-made Scud missiles are found aboard a ship bound for Yemen, provoking American
outrage.
United Nations
December 27: North Korea says it is expelling the two IAEA nuclear inspectors from the country. It also announces
plans to reopen a reprocessing plant which could produce weapons grade plutonium within months.
December 26: The IAEA expresses concern in light of UN confirmation that 1,000 fuel rods have been moved to the
Yongbyon reactor.
December 13: North Korea asks the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to remove surveillance
equipment from its Yongbyon power plant.
Diplomatic
November 18: A statement by North Korea is understood by some to mean they acknowledge having nuclear
weapons, while South Korea states a Korean phrase understood to mean the North does have nuclear weapons
could have been mistaken for the phrase "entitled to have".
October 20: North-South Korea talks in Pyongyang are undermined by the North's nuclear program "admission,"
and Secretary of State Colin Powell says further US aid to North Korea is now in doubt. North Korea both defends its
"right" to weapons development and then offers to halt its nuclear programs in return for aid and the signing of a
"non-aggression" pact with the US. It argues that the US has not kept to its side of the Agreed Framework, as the
construction of the light water reactors is years behind schedule.
October 16: The US announces that North Korea admitted in their talks to a secret nuclear arms program.
October 3-5: On a visit to Pyongyang, Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly presses North Korea on suspicions that
it is continuing to pursue a nuclear energy and missiles program, citing evidence of a secret uranium-enriching
program carried out in defiance of the 1994 Agreed Framework wherein North Korea agreed to forsake nuclear
ambitions in return for the construction of two light water nuclear power reactors and oil shipments from the US.

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