Written question asked by Rob Wilson (Conservative) on Thursday, 2 November 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 6 November 2006. It was answered by Ian McCartney (Labour) on Tuesday, 7 November 2006 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Iraq

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect of regime change in Iraq on regimes in North Korea and Iran.

Answer: The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) ambition and efforts to acquire nuclear weapons date from at least the 1980s. Since 2002, the United States has given the DPRK repeated assurances that it has no intention to attack or invade, and that it backs a diplomatic resolution to the nuclear issue through the Six Party Talks. Although some official statements from the DPRK have referred to US military action in Iraq as justifying their recent actions, we do not believe the DPRK would have adopted a different course if we had not taken action in Iraq.Many elements in the Iranian regime believe Saddam Hussein’s fall removed a significant threat to Iran’s security. Since 2003, Iran has sought to improve ties with the Iraqi authorities, including through high-level contacts and the development of economic and religious links. Iran has said that it wants multi-national forces to leave Iraq as soon as possible and we remain deeply concerned at Iran’s links to Shia extremists who have carried out attacks on them. Our concerns about other Iranian policies—for example, in areas such as its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, support for terrorism, attitude towards Israel and lack of respect for human rights—predate 2003 and have continued since then.

Secondary information