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North Korea Funneled Reactor Parts to Damascus

[Washington Post] Robin Wright and Joby Warrick - According to U.S. officials, European intelligence officials and diplomats, North Korean businessman Ho Jin Yun's Namchongang Trading (NCG) provided the critical link between Pyongyang and Damascus, acquiring key materials from vendors in China and probably from Europe, and secretly transferring them to a construction site near the Syrian town of Al Kibar. Western spy agencies were able to track the movement of NCG employees and purchases to Syria in 2003, where the outlines of the reactor scheme eventually became apparent. The Syrian site was closely scrutinized by Western intelligence officials for months before it was destroyed by Israel. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Michael Mullen said, "The reactor which was being built was not very far from being operational and needed to be hit." U.S. officials say that as the government cleared the site of debris after the bombing, some telltale reactor components that had been deliberately hidden became visible.
2008-05-12 01:00:00
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