(Washington Post) The nuclear weapons designs obtained by Libya through a Pakistani smuggling network originated in China, according to government officials and arms experts. The bomb designs and other papers turned over by Libya have yielded dramatic evidence of China's long-suspected role in transferring nuclear know-how to Pakistan in the early 1980s. The documents, some of which included text in Chinese, contained detailed, step-by-step instructions for assembling an implosion-type nuclear bomb that could fit atop a large ballistic missile. They also included technical instructions for manufacturing components for the device. "It tells you what torque to use on the bolts and what glue to use on the parts," one weapons expert who had reviewed the blueprints said.
2004-02-16 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive