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New York Times Report - North Korea Supplied Nuclear Material to Libya
VOA News
23 May 2004, 16:26 UTC

A published report says international inspectors have found evidence North Korea secretly supplied Libya with almost two tons of uranium in early 2001.

The New York Times Sunday's edition, says that if confirmed, it would be the first known case in which North Korea sold a key ingredient for atomic weapons to a foreign power.

The discovery also would indicate that North Korea may be capable of producing larger quantities of the material, especially since it maintains what are believed to be huge uranium mines.

Libya turned over a large quantity of uranium hexafluoride to the United States earlier this year, as part of an agreement to give up its nuclear program. U.S. officials initially identified Pakistan as the likely source of the material.

But The New York Times, citing unnamed U.S. officials and European diplomats, reports the International Atomic Energy Agency recently found strong evidence that the 1.7 metric tons of the uranium in Libya's possession came from North Korea.

According to the report, the agency based its conclusion on interviews with participants of a secret nuclear network set up by the disgraced former head of Pakistan's main nuclear laboratory, Abdul Qadeer Khan.

The uranium shipped to Libya could not be used as nuclear fuel, unless it was enriched in centrifuges, which the Libyans were constructing as part of a $100 million program to purchase equipment from the Khan network.

Experts say the Libyans had enough material to make one bomb.

The newspaper says the evidence has touched off a race among the world's intelligence services to find out if North Korea has sold nuclear material to other countries or perhaps to terrorists.

U.S. officials have not commented on The New York Times report. However, a White House spokesman, Trent Duffy, says it underscores the importance of seeking North Korea's complete, verifiable and irreversible nuclear disarmament.

Some information for this report provided by AFP.