WASHINGTON Ñ The United States said an unnamed nation may have helped Saudi fugitive Osama Bin Laden develop biological weapons.

"We are concerned that he could have been trying to acquire a rudimentary biological weapons capability, possibly with support from a state," U.S. Undersecretary for Arms Control and International Security John Bolton said at the opening of the United Nations conference on biological warfare.

Bin Laden has threatened to use biological weapons against the United States.

The Bush administration also named Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea and Syria as either possessing biological weapons or having the capability to produce them. The administration said Sudan also seeks biological weapons.

But Bolton highlighted what he termed was Iraq's biological weapons threat. Bolton said the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has intensified BW development over the last three years.

"Iraq's biological weapons program remains a serious threat to international security," Bolton said. "The United States strongly suspects that Iraq has taken advantage of three years of no UN inspections to improve all phases of its offensive BW program."

The conference seeks to revise the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention.

Bolton said the convention remains insufficient and has failed to stop the biological weapons programs even by those who have signed the treaty. Iraq, Iran and North Korea have signed the convention.

"We are also quite concerned about Iran, which the United States believes probably has produced and weaponized BW agents in violation of the convention," Bolton said.

Bolton said Syria and Libya are capable of producing small quantities of biological weapons agents.

"The United States believes that Libya has an offensive BW program in the research and development stage, and it may be capable of producing small quantities of agent," he said. "We believe that Syria has an offensive BW program in the research and development stage, and it may be capable of producing small quantities of agent.

The United States also believes that Sudan seeks to develop a biological weapons program, Bolton said. Both Sudan and Syria have refused to ratify the Biological Weapons Convention.

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