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Russia, China cooperating in nukes

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Monday, January 17, 2000

WASHINGTON -- Russia and Pentagon are cooperating in nuclear weapons.

Russia is helping China with tritium extraction for thermonuclear warheads.

Tritium is a gas used to boost the explosive power of nuclear warheads.

The Washington Times said the Pentagon obtained the new information, which linked to China's development of new and smaller warheads. This effort was already helped immensely by China's theft of design information on every deployed U.S. nuclear warhead.

Officials are now questioning the rationale behind the Pentagon's program to pay Russian weapons scientists not to sell their expertise abroad. The newspaper said Russian technicians also are helping China's military build cruise missiles.

Moscow also has sold advanced Su-27 and Su-30 warplanes and Sovremenny-class destroyers with SS-N-22 Sunburn anti-ship missiles.

On Sunday, the London-based Telegraph daily reported that North Korea is believed to be obtaining uranium for its secret nuclear weapons program in exchange for providing military training to the Congo. The newspaper said that for several months North Korea has been supplying troops and training Congolese soldiers engaged in one of Africa's bloodiest civil wars.

U.S. and South African intelligence sources fear that Congo President Laurent Kabila may have given North Korea access to the country's largest uranium mine as payment.

Monday, January 17, 2000

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