U.S. officials said despite increased pressure on Pyongyang and its
suppliers, North Korea continues to export missiles at the same level or even
beyond that of Sept. 11, 2001 when Washington declared its war against
terrorism.
North Korea appears on the State Department list of terrorist
sponsors and is regarded as the leading missile exporter in the world.
"This administration has repeatedly put the North on notice that it must
get out of the business of proliferation," U.S. Undersecretary of State John
Bolton said on Thursday. "Nonetheless, we see few, if any, signs of change
on this front."
In an address to the Korean-American Association in Seoul, South Korea,
Bolton said Pyongyang has become the largest proliferator of ballistic missile
components and regards this as its major source of hard currency. Bolton,
responsible for arms control and international security issues at the State
Department, said North Korea has been a major exporter of missile components
to Iran for years.
"It has an impressive list of customers spanning the globe from the Middle East, South Asia to North Africa, with
notable rogue-state clients such as Syria, Libya and Iran," he said. "North
Korea also is the world's foremost peddler of ballistic missile-related
equipment, components, materials and technical expertise."
He also expressed U.S. concerns about evidence North Korea is developing nuclear weapons.
"The concerns of the international community are only deepened by the clear discrepancy
between the amount of plutonium that may have been reprocessed at the
Yongbyon facility and the amount Pyongyang declared to the IAEA in
1992," he said.
Pyongyang is believed to have sufficient
plutonium for up to two nuclear weapons. He said such information could postpone U.S.
plans to build a light-water reactor in North Korea.
"The problem is that key nuclear components to power the reactors cannot
and will not be delivered until the IAEA effectively accounts for North
Korea's activities Ñ past and perhaps present," Bolton said. "In regard to
chemical weapons, there is little doubt that North Korea has an active
program.
"Continued intransigence on the part of Pyongyang only begs the
question: What is North Korea hiding?" Bolton asked.
U.S. officials said North Korea has concluded new missile deals with
such countries as Egypt, Iran, Libya and Syria. The deals all concern
Pyongyang's effort to export technology and components of its
intermediate-range missiles such as the No-Dong.
Bolston cited Iran, Libya, and Syria but suggested that Pyongyang had
other clients in the Middle East.
North Korea has refused the International Atomic Energy Agency's demand
to conduct more intrusive inspections of its suspected nuclear facilities,
Bolton said.
