ABSTRACT
The "nuclear plus" theories distinguish North Korea and Iran from other states pursuing or maintaining nuclear weapons programs by adding another qualifier. The states that have demonstrated a long-standing effort to pursue nuclear weapons or actively maintain them is a small club. The central element of all the remaining competing theories of the Iran– North Korea comparison is both nations' pursuit of nuclear technology. The competing theories note that North Korea and Iran are states that pursue nuclear weapons and do something else. North Korea and Iran both have human rights problems. Iran and North Korea have had an important military relationship for decades, most notably in the sale and development of ballistic missiles. Middle Eastern states that previously bought ballistic missiles from North Korea moved toward more advanced weapons systems like cruise missiles, manned aircraft, and missile defence in the early 1990s that they determined met their defence needs better.
