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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Data on N. Korea centrifuges sought |
| 2007-06-12 |
| North Korea purchased some two dozen centrifuges from the Pakistani nuclear supplier network headed by A.Q. Khan and must account for the equipment as part of the stalled nuclear agreement, said a senior Bush administration official. ... Of the centrifuges and uranium-enrichment goods that are the "central" issue of North Korean denuclearization, the senior official said, Pyongyang must account for the equipment. "We know they acquired ... close to two dozen centrifuges, P-1 and P-2 design, with P-2s being the most sophisticated," the senior official said. The P-1 and P-2 designs were sold by the Khan network to Libya, Iran and North Korea. Large numbers of the machines are needed to spin uranium hexafluoride gas to produce highly enriched uranium, the fuel for nuclear bombs. Additionally, North Korean purchasing agents bought special aluminum tubing used for centrifuges and uranium enrichment. "When you put all those pieces together, it spoke to a clear intent to have basically a production-scale capability to enrich uranium," the official said. Under the first phase of the February nuclear accord, North Korea must shut down its plutonium-fueled reactor and related facilities at Yongbyon and allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors back into the country to monitor the program. The second phase calls for dismantling all nuclear programs, including the uranium-enrichment facilities. The senior official said U.S. intelligence agencies assess that the first phase of the accord can be completed and that "the North Koreans would abide by that commitment." However, U.S. intelligence assessments indicate problems in getting North Korea to abide by the second phase of the accord. Rest at link. |
| Posted by:ed |
| #1 "Or what? Its not like we're getting our $25 mill already.... FOAD U.S." /channelling kimmie |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2007-06-12 17:18 |