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Further Reading

Nuclear Weapons Programs - 2007 Developments

Syria said its air defences opened fire on Israeli warplanes flying over the northeast of the country in the early hours of Thursday, 6 September 2007. Very few facts were known about the alleged incident. On 12 September 2007 Mark Mazzetti and Helene Cooper at the The New York Times reported that "Officials in Washington said that the most likely targets of the raid were weapons caches that Israel's government believes Iran has been sending the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah through Syria." On 13 September 2007 Glenn Kessler reported in the Washington Post that "...a former Israeli official said he had been told that it was an attack against a facility capable of making unconventional weapons."

On 12 September 2007 Mark Mazzetti and Helene Cooper in The New York Times reported that a "Bush administration official said Israel had recently carried out reconnaissance flights over Syria, taking pictures of possible nuclear installations that Israeli officials believed might have been supplied with material from North Korea. The administration official said Israeli officials believed that North Korea might be unloading some of its nuclear material on Syria. "The Israelis think North Korea is selling to Iran and Syria what little they have left," the official said. He said it was "unclear whether the Israeli strike [on 07 September 2007] had produced any evidence that might validate that belief."

On 13 September 2007 Glenn Kessler reported in the Washington Post that "North Korea may be cooperating with Syria on some sort of nuclear facility in Syria, according to new intelligence the United States has gathered over the past six months, sources said. The evidence, said to come primarily from Israel, includes dramatic satellite imagery... The new information, particularly images received in the past 30 days, has been restricted to a few senior officials..."

On 14 September 2007 Andrew Semmel, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy told reporters that North Koreans were in Syria and that Damascus might have had contacts with "secret suppliers" to obtain nuclear equipment. Semmel did not directly accuse the North Koreans, but noted that the A.Q. Khan network might be involved with Syria. "There are indicators that they do have something going on there," he said. "We do know that there are a number of foreign technicians that have been in Syria. We do know that there may have been contact between Syria and some secret suppliers for nuclear equipment. Whether anything transpired remains to be seen. ...So good foreign policy, good national security policy, would suggest that we pay very close attention to that," he said. "We're watching very closely. Obviously, the Israelis were watching very closely."

This flurry of reporting came a few days in advance of a regular round of six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear problem, which was anticipated to be held in late September 2007. A group of nuclear experts from the United States, Russia, and China arrived in North Korea on 11 September 2007 on a five-day visit to carry out inspections in the country, and draw up recommendations for shutting down all the country's remaining nuclear facilities.

On 16 September 2007, when asked about possible nuclear cooperation between Syria and North Korea, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Fox News Sunday that "If such an activity were taking place, it would be a matter of great concern because the president has put down a very strong marker with the North Koreans about further proliferation efforts. And obviously, any effort by the Syrians to pursue weapons of mass destruction would be a concern for us".

On 14 October 2007 The New York Times reported that the 9 September 2007 Israeli airstrike in Syria was directed against "...a partly constructed nuclear reactor, apparently modeled on one North Korea has used to create its stockpile of nuclear weapons fuel... the American and foreign officials said. They said it would have been years before the Syrians could have used the reactor to produce the spent nuclear fuel ...The partly constructed Syrian reactor was detected earlier this year by satellite photographs... It is possible, some officials said, that the transfer of the technology occurred several years ago."