# Is N. Korea the main weapons exporter? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 13, 2002, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-n-korea-the-main-weapons-exporter/142579 "2002-12-13T18:59:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-n-korea-the-main-weapons-exporter/142579/1 "2002-12-13T18:59:53Z")
I see that the U.S. is claiming that N. Korea is the world’s leading exporter of ballistic missles. I’m surprised at that, being under the impression that the U.S. is by far and away the world’s leading supplier of war materiel. In fact, I think that quite a bit of Sadaam’s arsenal came from us. How do I find some straight dope on this issue? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-n-korea-the-main-weapons-exporter/142579/2 "2002-12-13T19:05:02Z")
Look for Jane’s online. I’d hunt a link, but I’m too lazy. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-n-korea-the-main-weapons-exporter/142579/3 "2002-12-13T19:52:33Z")
The U.S. is probably “by far and away the world’s leading supplier of war materiel” but that doesn’t mean that it’s “the world’s leading exporter of ballistic missles”. BTW, it’s “missiles”