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US gives North Korea evidence that nuclear secrets came from AQ Khan

Daily Times Monitor

WASHINGTON: The United States has for the first time presented North Korea with specific evidence behind its allegations that North Korea secretly obtained uranium enrichment technology from Abdul Qadeer Khan, the New York Times (NYT) quoted two senior administration officials as saying.

According to NYT, the two officials said that the decision to share the intelligence with North Korean negotiators was part of an effort to convince North Korea that any discussions about disarmament must cover not only the nuclear weapons programme it boasts about, but a second one that it now denies. Putting on the table the evidence that North Korea obtained technology from the network built by Abdul Qadeer Khan is significant because it is an effort to break an impasse over the scope of North Korea’s nuclear program, the paper said.

“American officials were reluctant to describe the North Korean response, but one official said that when presented with the evidence – chiefly the testimony of Khan – they argued with the US negotiators about it,” said the paper

“American officials have never made public the details of Khan’s statements to Pakistani officials, who have declined to make him available for direct interrogation. But they have shared the information widely with Asian allies, and elements of it have leaked out, including Khan’s assertion – doubted by several specialists in the American intelligence community – that the North Koreans once showed him what they said were three fully assembled nuclear weapons.

“The two Bush administration officials declined to speak on the record, citing the delicacy of both the intelligence and the current negotiations. They would not describe how much detail had been given to the North Koreans. The presentation came in the first two days of talks in Beijing, which American officials said may stretch into next week,” said NYT.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_30-7-2005_pg1_3

TERRORISM: PISANU, AL QAEDA SETTLED IN HORN OF AFRICA
(AGI) - Rome, Italy, Jul 30 - The Interior and Foreign Affair Ministries "follow the development of the situation in the Horn of Africa with great attention, where al-Qaeda has arrived and settled in stateless lands, and from which it sends its adepts into Europe and the rest of the world," declared Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu at the Lower House, reminding that the Italian Navy is "thoroughly patrolling the waters." (AGI) -
301343 LUG 05

http://www.agi.it/english/news.pl?doc=200507301343-1091-RT1-CRO-0-NF82&page=0&id=agionline-eng.italyonline

“American officials have never made public the details of Khan’s statements to Pakistani officials, who have declined to make him available for direct interrogation. But they have shared the information widely with Asian allies, and elements of it have leaked out, including Khan’s assertion – doubted by several specialists in the American intelligence community – that the North Koreans once showed him what they said were three fully assembled nuclear weapons."

Verrrrrrrrrry interesting.

I wish more of those details would leak out...