North Korea will conduct high-level strategic talks
with Libya and Syria beginning this weekend in what diplomatic sources said could signal renewed
missile sales.
Kim Yong-Nam, regarded as the second highest-ranking official in North
Korea, is scheduled to arrive in Libya over the weekend. Diplomatic sources
said Kim will meet Libyan ruler Moammar Khaddafy during a visit that could
last up to four days.
"We are talking about a major visit by a leader who hardly ever leaves
North Korea," a diplomat said. "The agenda for such a visit can only be
understood as being highly significant."
From Tripoli, the sources said, Kim is expected to fly to Syria where he
will meet with President Bashar Assad. That visit could last another three
days, Middle East Newsline reported.
The sources said Kim's visit is part of an effort to increase strategic
ties with both Middle East countries. North Korea has sold the Scud C and D
missiles to Syria and is a leading contractor in an effort to develop a
No-Dong variant for Libya.
Syria has contracted North Korea to produce and assemble the Scud D
missile, with a range of 700 kilometers. The sources said Damascus has
launched the program from facilities that now produce the Scud C, with a
range of 500 kilometers.
The Libyan visit is expected to focus on North Korea's contribution to
the No-Dong variant. The sources said Western intelligence agencies believe
Pyongyang has shipped No-Dong missiles and components to Libya over the last
year. About 100 North Korean experts are in Libya to administer its
medium-range missile program, meant to produce a weapon with a range of
about 1,000 kilometers.
