North Korea Aiming Expand Export Of Missiles At Any Cost To Earn Hard Currency/North Korea Arms Exports Rose To 100 Million Dollars Last Year: Report

North Korea Aiming To Expand Export Of Missiles At Any Cost To Earn Hard Currency / North Korea Arms Exports Rose To 100 Million Dollars Last Year: Report

(NSI News Source Info) January 12, 2009: Exports of North Korean missiles and other weapons rose in value to about 100 million dollars last year mainly due to tensions in the Middle East, a South Korean newspaper reported The hardline communist country saw a sharp drop in weapons exports in 2007 because of international sanctions imposed after it tested missiles and an atom bomb in 2006. Last year the value of its overseas arms sales rose to about 100 million dollars or more than 10 percent of total exports, the Dong-a Ilbo newspaper said. It quoted an unidentified Seoul government official as saying progress in six-party nuclear disarmament talks last year helped North Korea sell more weapons. The paper said purchasers felt less political burden in buying such weapons because the talks had made some headway. The Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America were said to be export destinations. "Middle East countries are known to have purchased a large amount of weapons from North Korea due to a military confrontation with Israel," the official was quoted as saying. North Korea has allegedly supplied missiles to Syria, and Washington said Iranian officials were present at the North's missile test-launches in 2006. The South's unification ministry and defence ministry said they could not confirm the newspaper report. The United States has accused North Korea of being a leading global proliferator of weapons. But the cash-strapped country has refused to stop missile exports, a major source of hard currency earnings.

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Source: Dawn - Pakistani Media

North Korea Gave Missile Technology To Pakistan (NSI News Source Info) January 12, 2009: The US for the first time on Wednesday explicitly accused Pakistan and North Korea of missile-related trade, but said it was unable to substantiate reports of nuclear technology transfers.

A State Department statement received here said North Korea had exported missile technology to the A.Q. Khan Research Laboratories (KRL).

The export prompted the US to slap trade sanctions on KRL and the North Korean missile marketing entity, Changgwang Sinyong Corporation, on March 24, spokesman Philip Reeker said in the statement.

“Changgwang Sinyong Corporation transferred missile-related technology to KRL,” Mr Reeker said, without specifying when.

“The United States made a determination to impose penalties on both Changgwang Sinyong Corporation and KRL as a result of this specific missile-related transfer.”

KRL and the North Korean firm have been banned from trade with US firms under the sanctions imposed on March 24, but only formally announced by the US on Monday.

Japan’s Sankei Shimbun newspaper reported on Wednesday that US satellites and spy networks detected North Korean exports of some 10 Scud B missiles to Pakistan last month.

An unnamed US security official told the paper the missiles were loaded on to a Pakistan-flagged cargo ship at a North Korean port in mid-March, and entered Pakistani territory in late March.

Numerous media reports, quoting unnamed US intelligence officials, have alleged that Pakistan exported nuclear technology to North Korea.

The reports alleged North Korea had received from Pakistan designs for gas centrifuges to make weapons-grade uranium to manufacture fissile material for nuclear bombs.But Mr Reeker said Washington was unable to prove the reports.

“We informed the Congress on March 12 that the administration had carefully reviewed the facts relating to the possible transfer of nuclear technology from Pakistan to North Korea, and decided that the facts do not warrant the imposition of sanctions under applicable US laws.”