Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Japan this week promoting bilateral ties, drew a parallel between Israel and Japan’s challenges with nuclear proliferation, warning on Thursday that Iran was supplying North Korea with nuclear technology.

The online news site Japan Today reports:

Netanyahu, who is in Japan this week for talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, said Iran “would share whatever technology it acquired with North Korea,” the Mainichi Shimbun reported in a front-page piece.

Asked if Pyongyang is receiving technologies linked to nuclear and missile development from Iran, Netanyahu said: “Yes, that’s exactly the case.”

Japan Today notes that though Japan has been at the forefront of maintaining North Korea’s diplomatic  isolation, it continues to maintain diplomatic relations with Iran. Last year a nuclear bomb tested by North Korea was suspected to have been developed with the help of Iranian “enrichment know-how.”

Earlier in the week, The Japan Times reported on the areas of cooperation that Israel and Japan hope to strengthen.

In a joint statement the two leaders signed after more than an hour of talking at the prime minister’s office, they agreed to hold talks between their national security organs in Israel, and to increase exchanges of defense authorities.

They also agreed to promote cooperation in cybersecurity, which Israel excels in.

In recent months, Israel has been developing stronger ties with Asian countries, as trade with India is booming and Israel hosted South Korean entrepreneurs. More generally, it was reported recently that Asia is likely to surpass the United States as Israel’s second biggest trading partner after the European Union this year.

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