The United Nations believes that North Korea and Iran have violated U.N. sanctions by regularly exchanging ballistic missile technology.

A classified U.N. report that Reuters has obtained shows that this illicit technological exchange was conducted through a third country.

Numerous diplomats named China as the country.

The U.N. report suspects that parts of the banned ballistic missiles were transported between North Korea and Iran through regular flights of the North Korean airline Air Koryo and Iran Air.

The report was submitted to the U.N. Security Council (U.N.S.C.) by a panel of experts who have been keeping a watch on North Korea on its compliance with the U.N.S.C. sanctions, which were placed after the Communist nation conducted two nuclear experiments in 2006 and 2009.