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Iranian Drones Disrupt Relations between Bolivia, Argentina

Bolivian Defense Minister Edmundo Novillo and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani, signed an agreement in Tehran last week (Tasnim)
Bolivian Defense Minister Edmundo Novillo and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani, signed an agreement in Tehran last week (Tasnim)
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Iranian Drones Disrupt Relations between Bolivia, Argentina

Bolivian Defense Minister Edmundo Novillo and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani, signed an agreement in Tehran last week (Tasnim)
Bolivian Defense Minister Edmundo Novillo and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani, signed an agreement in Tehran last week (Tasnim)

An Iranian deal to supply Bolivia with drones threatens its relationship with Argentina, which demanded explanations on the agreement concluded last week, and raised security concerns in the region.

Bolivian Defense Minister Edmundo Novillo confirmed his country's interest in obtaining Iranian drone technology to protect its borders and combat smuggling and drug trafficking.

The minister spoke to the press a day after Argentina's foreign ministry sent a note to the Bolivian embassy in Buenos Aires requesting information "about the scope of the discussions and possible agreements reached" during Novillo's visit to Iran last week.

Bolivian opposition lawmakers also requested information after they found out through the media about an alleged defense and security memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Novillo and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, on July 20.

The Associated Press (AP) reported that Novillo dismissed those concerns, saying they were "exaggerated" and came from an Argentine lawmaker "who, I understand, has Israeli origins," whom he did not name.

The minister characterized concerns as an "exaggeration" and a "political show," speculating that it had to do with the upcoming elections in Argentina and that some sectors of the country's right-wing are trying to use the issue for political purposes.

Argentina will hold primary elections next month ahead of the presidential elections in October.

Argentina's foreign ministry declined to comment on Novillo's news conference.

The Bolivian minister also denied that an MoU had been signed with Iran, saying that he signed an "act" with his counterpart in Tehran to identify common points of interest.

Iran's state-run news agency IRNA had reported on the memorandum of understanding. Neither country has made the document public.

The Iranian minister said Latin American countries are particularly significant in Iran's foreign and defense policy based on the importance of the susceptible South American region.

In response to the Argentine memorandum, Novillo said Bolivia was interested in Iranian high-tech drones that can monitor mountainous areas and provide real-time images to the armed forces, stating that their technology could help the Andean country's efforts to boost border security.

He did not say whether Bolivia would purchase the drones or if they would be a donation, but the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), based in Washington, said last week that "Iran has sought to increase the number of countries that buy Iranian drones in recent years."

Bolivian opposition lawmaker Gustavo Aliaga told AP that the defense minister must clarify and explain the agreement and the reason for signing it with a country that has complications on the international scene when Bolivia should be peaceful according to its constitution.

Aliaga, the Defense and Armed Forces Committee secretary in the Chamber of Deputies, said: "All I know is what the press publishes."

- Disagreement in the Bolivian parliament

"They say that (Iran) will give us drones. Others say they will give us missiles. All of this sounds strange, even more so considering it involves Iran," said the Bolivian opposition lawmaker.

"I can't understand why Bolivia is getting involved in such a complex and difficult relationship."

Meanwhile, Senator Leonardo Loza, aligned with the ruling Movement Toward Socialism party, praised the agreement.

Loza, secretary of the Senate's Security Committee, asserted his country's right to sign these agreements.

"The United States is the most dangerous country, and Bolivia has the right to sign agreements with other nations."

Venezuela had previously said it was building drones with Iran's help, according to Annika Ganzeveld, an Iran analyst for the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, an ISW partner organization.

The Bolivian-Iranian agreement came about two months after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's tour to South America, which included Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba.

"President Ebrahim Raisi has shown a greater interest in developing relations with South American countries than his predecessor," Ganzeveld said.

"Iran's renewed focus on Latin America indicates it is trying to increase its foothold in this region, especially by bolstering economic interactions and possibly pursuing arms deals."

- Ghost of AMIA bombing

The agreement raised particular concern in Argentina, where prosecutors have long alleged that Iranian officials used the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah to carry out the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people.

Iran has denied any involvement in the incident.

Bolivia and Iran had a close relationship during the government of President Evo Morales (2006-2019), with then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visiting Bolivia three times.

The alignment caused diplomatic spats with Argentina, most notably in 2011 when Bolivia expelled then-Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi at the urging of Buenos Aires.

Argentine prosecutors consider Vahidi one of the masterminds behind the AMIA attack.

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Satellite Images Suggest North Korea Expanding Missile Plant, Researchers Say

A satellite image shows a suspected missile assembly building under construction (lower center of photo) at the "February 11 Plant" near Hamhung, North Korea in this handout image obtained by Reuters on November 20, 2024. (Planet Labs PBC/Handout via Reuters)
A satellite image shows a suspected missile assembly building under construction (lower center of photo) at the "February 11 Plant" near Hamhung, North Korea in this handout image obtained by Reuters on November 20, 2024. (Planet Labs PBC/Handout via Reuters)
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Satellite Images Suggest North Korea Expanding Missile Plant, Researchers Say

A satellite image shows a suspected missile assembly building under construction (lower center of photo) at the "February 11 Plant" near Hamhung, North Korea in this handout image obtained by Reuters on November 20, 2024. (Planet Labs PBC/Handout via Reuters)
A satellite image shows a suspected missile assembly building under construction (lower center of photo) at the "February 11 Plant" near Hamhung, North Korea in this handout image obtained by Reuters on November 20, 2024. (Planet Labs PBC/Handout via Reuters)

North Korea is expanding a key weapons manufacturing complex that assembles a type of short-range missile used by Russia in Ukraine, researchers at a US-based think tank have concluded, based on satellite images.

The facility, known as the February 11 plant, is part of the Ryongsong Machine Complex in Hamhung, North Korea's second-largest city, on the country's east coast.

Sam Lair, a research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), located at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, said the plant was the only one known to produce the Hwasong-11 class of solid-fuel ballistic missiles. Ukrainian officials say these munitions - known as the KN-23 in the West - have been used by Russian forces in their assault on Ukraine.

The expansion of the complex has not been previously reported.

Both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied that North Korea has transferred weapons for Russia to use against Ukraine, which it invaded in February 2022. Russia and North Korea signed a mutual defense treaty at a summit in June and have pledged to boost their military ties.

North Korea's mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

The satellite images, taken in early October by the commercial satellite firm Planet Labs, show what appears to be an additional assembly building under construction as well as a new housing facility, likely intended for workers, according to the analysis by researchers at CNS.

It also appears that Pyongyang is improving the entrances for some of the underground facilities at the complex.

A disused bridge crane that was in front of a tunnel entrance, blocking easy access, was removed, suggesting they might be placing an emphasis on that part of the facility, Lair said.

"We see this as a suggestion that they're massively increasing, or they're trying to significantly increase, the throughput of this factory," Lair said.

The new assembly building is about 60 to 70 percent the size of the previous building used to assemble missiles.

In 2023, state media published images, which Reuters has reviewed, showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walking through new buildings at the complex in Hamhung, where workers were assembling tail kits and nose cones for what appeared to be the KN-23, according to analysts.

In the past, publicly released videos from North Korean state media show that the complex has produced everything from tank wheels to the casings for rocket motors, Lair said.

LOW-FLYING MISSILES

The KN-23 was first tested in May 2019, and is designed to evade missile defenses by flying on a lower, "depressed" trajectory, experts have told Reuters, making them potentially useful for Russia as it seeks ways to penetrate Ukraine's air defenses.

Russia has fired thousands of missiles since the invasion. Leaning on North Korea for additional supplies could ease the strain on its own production facilities, Lair said.

North Korea's state news agency KCNA has reported that construction is underway at the Ryongsong Machine Complex.

This month, KCNA said the facility "is pushing ahead with the projects for attaining the goal for modernization planned for this year." The work includes rebuilding production facilities as well as assembling and installing equipment at machine workshops and a steel casting workshop, it said.

Researchers at SI Analytics, a South Korean satellite imagery firm that uses AI technology to scour images, also confirmed the new construction at the February 11 plant, saying in a report on Monday that some of the construction near the loading area would likely be used to conceal the future operations of the factory from satellites.

"Considering the presence of numerous construction materials, vehicles, and open-top freight cars loaded with materials around the site, the construction appears to be progressing rapidly," the firm said. The report said the facility was used to produce ballistic missiles, without naming the KN-23.

Michael Duitsman, also a research associate at CNS, said it was possible that the new construction revealed in the satellite images could be a storage facility, but he believed it was more likely a new assembly building.

North Korean missiles account for a fraction of Russia's strikes during its war on Ukraine, but their alleged use has caused alarm in Seoul and Washington because it suggests an end of nearly two-decade consensus among UN Security Council permanent members on preventing Pyongyang from expanding its ballistic missile programs.

SI Analytics said on Monday it had also identified new construction at the nearby February 8 Vinalon Complex, which is believed to produce fuel for ballistic missiles. The construction may be aimed at boosting production of solid propellants or UDMH, an important liquid rocket engine fuel, the report said.

Joseph Dempsey, a military analyst with London's International Institute for Strategic Studies, said that North Korea's expansion of short-range ballistic missile facilities would likely be motivated mainly by a desire to boost the country's own arsenal.

He said it was unclear to what extent Pyongyang may have expanded production capacity to meet the demands of its new cooperation with Moscow.

More than 10,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to the Russian region of Kursk, where Ukraine launched a major cross-border incursion in August, according to Washington, Kyiv and Seoul.

The troops will fight as part of Russia's airborne unit and marines, with some already participating in battles in the Ukraine war, a South Korean lawmaker who sits on the parliamentary intelligence committee said on Wednesday.

Russia has not denied the involvement of North Korean troops in the war, which it has been waging in Ukraine since launching a full-scale invasion in February 2022.