Posted on 09/23/2004 9:33:50 PM PDT by HAL9000
SEOUL, Sept. 24 (Yonhap) -- A toxic chemical used to make nerve gas has been shipped from South Korea to North Korea via China, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said Friday.A South Korean company shipped 107 tons of sodium cyanide to a company in China without government approval between June last year and September this year.
well anything for money
Officials say South Korean firm shipped toxic chemical to North Korea
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea imported nearly 100 tonnes of South Korean-originated sodium cyanide last year, acquiring a toxic chemical that can be used to make sarin nerve gas, South Korean officials said Friday.
A South Korean company sold the chemical to a Chinese firm from June to September last year and the cargo was then shipped to North Korea, said the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy in a news release.
The ministry did not identify the names of the traders involved in the deal, which it considered illegal.
Sodium cyanide is normally used to make fertilizers and in industrial plating. But treated with acids, it can turn into sarin, a nerve agent that can cause loss of consciousness, paralysis and death.
Although it was unclear why the North wanted the chemical, the communist country does have a large stockpile of chemical and biological weapons, in addition to its nuclear weapons programs, according to U.S. and South Korean officials.
In 1995, members of a Japanese cult released sarin gas into Tokyo subway cars, killing 12 people and injuring thousands.
Crickey Mate!!
Try them and execute them....
Wow. Talking about selling your enemy the rope to hang you with. Not that they didn't already have plenty of rope, but why make sure they get enough for everyone?
That's terrible. Why would some South Korean firm give chemicals to North Korea????????????
I have never heard of this. Sounds like typical AP credibility.
Off the net:
"An unidentified South Korean company sold about 338 tons of sodium cyanide to a Thai company in February 2002, Chosun said. The unidentified Thai firm then arranged to ship 70 tons of the chemical to North Korea."
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