North Korea And Iran, Two-Thirds Of George W. Bush's 'Axis of Evil,' To Meet In Tehran At NAM Summit

Kim Yong-nam, North Korea's nominal head of state, will attend the Non-Aligned Movement, or NAM, summit in Tehran this weekend, Pyonyang's official news agency said.

Yong-nam is the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly and has represented North Korea's supreme leaders (both the late Kim Jong-Il and now his son, Kim Jong-un) in visits around the world.

He attended the 2009 NAM summit in Egypt and also travelled to Laos and Vietnam earlier this month.

The news agency also reported that an Iranian delegation visited North Korea in July for "political negotiations and consultations on international developments." That parley ended with both sides adopting a shared stand against "Western imperialism."

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"For the shipment of cargo, like arms and related materiel, whose illicit nature would become apparent on any cursory physical inspection, [North] Korea seems to prefer chartered cargo flights," the report added.

Experts have also highlighted the design similarity between a warhead displayed in a North Korean missile and an Iranian warhead.

However, aside from the trade of nuclear technology, arms and oil, there appear to be no other commercial transactions between the two countries.

Nonetheless, a close relationship between North Korea and Iran would raise serious concerns in the West and perhaps undermine, or at least weaken, sanctions placed upon these nations.

As China now continues to build the two economic zones in North Korea, Western sanctions on North Korea would be neutralized. Furthermore, if North Korea and Iran were to