A North Korean missile test occurred on May 29 and 30, 1993.

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

fired a

Nodong-1 The Hwasong-7 (; spelled Hwaseong-7 in South Korea, lit. Mars Type 7), also known as Nodong-1 (Hangul: ; Hanja: ), is a single- stage, mobile liquid propellant medium-range ballistic missile developed by North Korea. Developed in the mid-1980s, it ...

missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket ...

into the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, i ...

, from a base in Hwadae County near Wonsan, North Korea. The target was a

buoy A buoy () is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. Types Navigational buoys * Race course marker buoys are used for buoy racing, the most prevalent form of y ...

floating in the

. The North Koreans were testing the missile so they could export it to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

in return for

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

. Japanese and United States officials waited a few days before disclosing the launch of the missile. Afterwards, North Korea reaffirmed its commitment to the

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation ...

. The missile launches were the culmination of several months' planning and bargaining with Iran, and what was suggested to be a plot between Iran and North Korea to develop weapons capable of striking Japan. It began in March 1993, with North Korea receiving several shipments of "special metals" designated for the construction of missile launch pads.CNS-Chronology of North Korea missile tests Later, a Russian report indicated that North Korea was in the market for "missile specialists" in order to turn their missile production into a more profitable venture. Russian officials were further incensed after detaining a group of Russian nuclear physicists and rocket scientists attempting to enter North Korea. North Korea later pledged not to use Russian scientists and technicians, after being threatened with cut diplomatic ties by Russia. In January of that year, the commander of the Iranian Revolution Guard Corps,

Mohsen Rezaee Mohsen Rezaee ( fa, محسن رضایی, born Sabzevar Rezaee Mirgha'ed ( fa, سبزوار رضایی میرقائد) on 1 September 1954) is an Iranian conservative politician affiliated with the Resistance Front of Islamic Iran and senior mili ...

, went to

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...

to finalize a 2.7 billion dollar purchase of around 300

Scud missiles A Scud missile is one of a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was exported widely to both Second and Third World countries. The term comes from the NATO reporting name attached to the mis ...

from North Korea. Around the same time, the Iranian delegation came to watch the final Nodong-1 tests and North Korea announced its withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It was suspected upon successful testing of the missiles, Iran intended to trade oil for the Nodong missiles, as Iran is a primary contributor of North Korea's oil (over 40%).

References

{{Nuclear program of North Korea North Korean missile test North Korean missile test Nuclear program of North Korea Guided missiles of North Korea May 1993 events in Asia

See also

References