Did North Korea Pay Pakistani Military Officials for Nuclear Weapons Technology?
- Posted on July 7, 2011 at 6:16pm by
Billy Hallowell
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WASHINGTON (The Blaze/AP) — The founder of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program claims that in the late 1990s North Korean officials paid kickbacks to senior Pakistani military figures in exchange for critical weapons technology — a charge that could further strain U.S. relations with the Middle Eastern nation.
Abdul Qadeer Khan has given a United States-based expert documents that appear to show North Korea’s government paid more than $3.5 million to two Pakistani military officials as part of the deal, the expert told The Associated Press Wednesday.
To back up his claim, Khan released what he said was a copy of a North Korean official’s 1998 letter to him, written in English, that purports to describe the secret deal.
Khan gave the documents to Simon Henderson of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, an authority on Pakistan’s weapons program. He did so because he has been accused by his government of running a covert nuclear smuggling operation without official knowledge or consent.
“He gave it to me because he regarded it as showing that the story, the perception that he had been a rogue operator was false,” Henderson said.
The letter, along with a statement by Khan describing the deal, suggests that at least some top-level Pakistani military officials knew early on about some of Khan’s extensive sale of nuclear weapons technology to other countries, including North Korea, Iran and Libya.
If that’s true, it could deepen the distrust between the United States and Pakistan, which are struggling to set aside their differences and cooperate in the battle against militant extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tehmina Janjua said Thursday of the report, “It is totally baseless.”
The significance of the revelation is in dispute. Henderson said the documents prove Khan’s claims that his nuclear arms smuggling network had high-level support from the Pakistani government, but others say the letter bolsters the government‘s claims it didn’t know what Khan was up to.
The Washington Post said it obtained the documents and first reported on them on its website Wednesday after a lengthy effort to authenticate them.
The letter Khan released is dated July 15, 1998, and marked “Secret.” It carries the apparent signature of North Korean Workers Party Secretary Jon Byong Ho.
The text says, “Please give the agreed documents, components, etc. to a … (North Korean Embassy official in Pakistan) to be flown back when our plane returns after delivery of missile components.”
The letter never mentions the word “nuclear.” But Khan’s written description of the events surrounding the letter makes it clear that the Workers Party official was referring to components and plans for Pakistani centrifuges used to enrich uranium.
Highly enriched uranium can be used either to make fuel for nuclear reactors or to form the explosive core of a nuclear weapon.
Jehangir Karamat, a former Pakistani military chief named as the recipient of the $3 million, said the letter was untrue. In an email to the Post from Lahore, Karamat said Khan, as part of his defense against allegations of personal responsibility for illicit nuclear proliferation, had tried “to shift blame on others.”
The other official, retired Lt. Gen. Zulfiqar Khan, called the letter “a fabrication.”
The Post said the assertions by Khan and the details in the letter could not be independently verified.
But the newspaper quoted one senior U.S. official who said the signature appeared genuine and the contents were “consistent with our knowledge” of the events described. Another intelligence official said the letter contained information known only to a handful of people.
Khan has long denied claims that he was working behind his government’s back in his covert nuclear technology sales to foreign governments.
“This is a piece of dramatic evidence that Khan did not act as a single rogue agent, but instead was operating at the instruction of others,” Henderson said. “I think the main point of this is that Pakistan used this technology to trade for diplomatic advantage.”
David Albright, an authority on nuclear proliferation with the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, disagreed, saying the letter and Khan’s narrative are evidence he acted alone.
“It shows that Khan was a rogue agent and that he colluded to provide centrifuge components to North Korea without Pakistani official approval,” Albright said.
He said that in Khan’s narrative, which has not been released, the scientist claimed he had assured the military that North Korea would not use the centrifuges for its nuclear weapons program, since it already had more advanced technology for that purpose.
Albright said the claim was false, but Pakistani military officials could have found it plausible.
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varnell99
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 9:41pmAs much as I don’t trust North Korea, I trust Pakistan even less. In this situation I will chose to believe North Korea. After our government doesn’t pay them anything, yet.
Report Post »Bernard
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 6:16pmOnly in the BLAZE and Indian newspapers does one read such news. According to the father of Pakistan’s nuclear program who sold these nuclear secrets this incident indeed happened. He also sold the same nuclear secrets to Iran and President HUSSEIN and his administration knew this.
Report Post »Now Cambodia wants to be the next Nuclear power along with Syria. North Korea is more than willing to help.
MUDFLAPS
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 5:35pmwho cares, this president is not going to do anything anyway. Its only real enemy now is Israel, oh and the American people of course, and anyone who loves the constitution or the flag or patriotism.
Report Post »elosogrande
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 11:20amIf this is true The President of The United States needs to make sure that Pakistan clearly understands one thing. A nuclear attack of any kind by North Korea, anywhere in the world, will also be considered a nuclear attack by Pakistan.
Report Post »Paul_ Revere
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 12:32amyes and these are the Obama alias Pakistan playing both sides and amazingly enough hhe is getting away with murder and U,S, dollars still heading in their pockets at the tune of 80 million a yaer.
Report Post »Hiswill
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 9:21pmNorth Koreans are starving to death and all this guy wants is power. My heart goes out to the people of North Korea and I pray one day they will learn what a blood thirsty killer their ruler really is.
Report Post »stevoschmidt
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 8:17pm@psst
i hope my doorbell doesnt ring, thanks for the history lesson
Report Post »powhatan
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 8:16pm2012 can not come soon enough…..a lot of people need replacing! Big Time!
Report Post »stevoschmidt
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 8:16pmdeclaration of war = rogue nation building nuclear weapon for mean of peace lol . god forbid a politician bring up the axis of evil speech. we are deep in the labyrinth now it will take a real eye opener before this administration grows a pair. and that is exactely why nothing will get done when evidence like this is brought to light. obama invites trajedy.
Report Post »welovetheUSA
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 7:35pmThis will Not turn out well for anyone……..where the heck is our government?
Report Post »cheezwhiz
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 7:32pmDid North Korea Pay Pakistani Military Officials for Nuclear Weapons Technology?
Report Post »————
No way
The Pakis just donated nuclear weapon’s technology to the NoKos out of the goodness of their hearts, as a zakat :D
They would never ever accept money from a dirt poor regime like that of Kim Jong Mentally iLL
psst
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 7:30pmThis IS Old news.
Report Post »The father of Pakistan’s nuclear program, Abdul Qadeer Khan, has long asserted that he conducted all his nuclear bomb-making and proliferation activities with a full complement of blessings, winks and nods of the Pakistani state. Naturally, Pakistan has denied all of Khan’s claims–but also freed Khan from house arrest and refused to give U.S. officials access to question him
Khan was trained in Britain. He took off for Pakistan w/ Brit nuke knowhow. Started Phokistan( a lil’ Soetoro lingo) nuke program and have been sellin nuke technology to N. Korea for years.
Ain‘t nutt’n new about this story.
Western intelligence have known about this for years. Dung 1 and now Dung 2 have played US prezs like chin music for many moons.And they all knew they were being played for fools.
None had the kaballsa to take out the Dungs nukes.
geonj
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 7:12pmsurprise, surprise, surprise. when do we stop financing these people who hate us so. head to head, we can reduce pakistan, iran or any other country who wants to go against us to ash.
Report Post »Mateytwo Barreett
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 7:02pmWhy would they buy the technology from the Pakis??? Ol’ Slick Willie get cold feet? Bet not!
Report Post »frustratedwithgovt
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 6:55pmI say forget Pakistan and lets buddie up with India.
Report Post »cheezwhiz
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 6:42pma charge that could further strain U.S. relations with the Middle Eastern nation.
Report Post »———————-
Strain U S relations with Pakistan ( which is not a Middle Eastern nation BTW) how exactly ?
Is that a code for we might have to send in even more taxpayer dollars to taaaleebaaan errr er….er Pakistan ?
or we might need to bring in even more paki jihadies into our universities ?
or we might have to build even more mosks on US soil ?