Iran is denying that it has exchanged missile technology with North Korea.

A spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry told reporters Monday that his country has always maintained that as long as it’s within regulations of the international framework, space can be used for peaceful purposes.

He added that Iran’s missile program is a separate and independent issue from North Korea's, saying the North’s program started years ago with previous launch attempts.

International experts believe Iran and North Korea have conducted joint research on rockets, citing that the North’s recently launched rocket is similar in weight to a rocket Iran used in February to put its Omid satellite into orbit.