Science group to release satellite photos of Israeli nuke sites

WASHINGTON -- On Tuesday, the Washington-based Federation of American Scientists released what it termed new high resolution satellite photos of Indian and Pakistani primary nuclear weapons and ballistic missile facilities.

The group will also release declassified photos of Israeli nuclear and missile facilities, Middle East Newsline reported. The photographs were taken by a Space Imaging Corporation IKONOS satellite.

The FAS, regarded as a prominent scientific group, said the photographs point to "an expensive and highly-integrated network of military institutions geared towards deployment of nuclear weapons."

"These images visibly demonstrate the magnitude of the weapons programs of the three nuclear weapons states that remain outside the Non-Proliferation Treaty regime," said John Pike of the Federation of American Scientists. "The NPT Review Conference has failed to come to grips with this reality, and the future of all non-proliferation efforts hinge on this fact."

Meanwhile, the United States is preparing for another inspection of a North Korean site thought to be producing nuclear weapons.

Officials said a U.S team will begin the inspection of the site at Kumchang-ni on May 23. An inspection last year of the underground site found no evidence that nuclear weapons were being stored or production was proceeding.

But State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said a second inspection is required to ensure that no work was taking place.

Officials said the results of the 1999 inspection continued to raise doubts in the Clinton administration over the intentions of Pyongyang. North Korea pledged in 1994 not to produce nuclear weapons.

On Tuesday, South Korea's Unification Ministry announced that North and South Korea have agreed to hold a fifth round of preparatory talks Thursday at Freedom House in the truce village of Panmunjom in an effort to complete all procedural details for next month's inter-Korean summit. The two sides are expected to sign an agreement at the summit.