• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

US Lawmakers Discuss North Korea's Possible Nuclear Ties to Syria

By Dan Robinson
Capitol Hill
24 April 2008

U.S. officials briefed members of Congress Thursday on intelligence indicating that North Korea may have provided nuclear assistance to Syria. Syria has officially denied that Pyongyang was helping it build a nuclear reactor. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill, lawmakers voiced frustration with Bush administration timing of the briefings, and concerns about the impact of the information.

Since the Israeli air strike last year on a remote site in Syria, members of Congress have tried to obtain more information from the Bush administration.

In hearing after hearing, U.S. officials declined comment when asked about reports that Israel had acted against a suspected nuclear reactor site.

On Thursday, lawmakers finally got the in depth briefing they wanted, including according to media reports, a video showing North Korean officials or technicians at the Syrian site destroyed by the Israeli air strike.

The briefings come as the United States and partners in the six-party negotiations with North Korea attempt to move Pyongyang toward fulfilling its commitment of full disclosure of its nuclear activities, including any proliferation activities.

The Syria-North Korea issue came up during a previously-scheduled House committee hearing on U.S.-Syrian relations.

Chairman Gary Ackerman asserts the administration leaked the information to the media in advance of the briefings.

"Before any of us was given any information, and prior to the briefing, suddenly it appears in our nation's premier newspapers this morning, information that the administration has chosen selectively to put out, even before members of Congress and chairmen of committees were able to see this," he said.

Anger over administration delays was echoed by Democrat Silvestre Reyes, the current chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and the ranking panel Republican Pete Hoekstra.

While he cautioned reporters to wait for a more detailed statement expected later from the White House, Hoekstra said the administration offered no compelling reason for delaying briefings for Congress, and he offered this early assessment.

"This is a serious proliferation issue both in the Middle East and for the countries that may be involved in Asia," he explained.

Appearing before the House committee, Martyn Indyk, a former U.S. ambassador now with The Brookings Institution, referred to reported Israeli concerns about U.S. media reports saying Israel provided video evidence of a North Korean connection with Syria, saying this might embarrass Damascus and upset a delicate balance between Israel and Syria.

The timing, Indyk suggests, had more to do with North Korea efforts to obtain Pyongyang's full compliance with six-party agreements, than with Syria.

"There is clearly a discussion going on within the administration about what is required with the North Koreans in terms of full disclosure and whether they can accept a statement from the North Koreans which is, we didn't do it, but we will never do it again as opposed to coming clean on what they actually did," he noted.

Peter Rodman, a former Assistant Secretary of Defense also with Brookings, ascribes no complex motivations to the timing.

"I think this is just the intelligence community, I think it is just sort of a reflect action to put this stuff [information] out. The intelligence community is not responsive to political pressures of this kind," he explained.

House Foreign Affairs Chairman Howard Berman issued a statement Thursday calling reported details of North Korean-Syrian cooperation disturbing, but said he does not believe they provide a reason to suspend the six-party talks with Pyongyang.

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said Thursday that information being shared with Congress would not "come as a surprise" to any in the six-party talks with North Korea.

North Korea was supposed to have provided a full declaration on its nuclear programs three months ago, including details of any assistance given to or obtained from other countries.