Iran had one or more officials present at a missile test-firing in North Korea earlier this month, a senior State Department official told members of Congress Thursday.
Asked by Republican Senator George Allen about reports that Tehran had representative at the July 5 launch of seven missiles, including a long-range ballistic missile, Christopher Hill, Assistant Secretary of State for Asian affairs answered "yes, that is our understanding.
"And our understanding is that North Korea has had a number of commercial relationships in the Middle East, with respect to missiles," Hill added.
He told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, however, that there so far is no evidence that North Korea has attempted to transfer its nuclear know-how to another country.
But asked by Allen whether or not is it "a great concern that Iran has those relationships militarily with North Korea," Hill answered affirmatively.
"That is absolutely correct," he said.
"Clearly, North Korea has interest in commercializing this technology," the diplomat said.
Allen mentioned other possible foreign military transactions by Pyongyang, including Syria, Venezuela and Burma.
"We have certainly tracked that, and we do know that they have been engaged in these types of talks," Hill said.
