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The Washington Post reported Thursday that claims by the Bush Administration that North Korea was the likely source of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) exported to Libya were based on evidence that could just as easily point to Pakistan.
The New York Times had reported Wednesday that testing of isotopic traces of the UF6 obtained from Libya after the country declared it was giving up its nuclear program pointed to North Korea as the source. The Washington Post reported the same day that traces of North Korean plutonium had been discovered in a canister obtained from Libya
But on Thursday the Post wrote, "The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which conducted tests on the materials, has not reached the same finding and believes that the evidence is inconclusive." It said the U.S. did not report the results of its plutonium tests to the IAEA, and tests conducted by the international body on the canister using samples taken at the same time the U.S. obtained its problematic samples last spring did not detect plutonium.
The paper said some U.S. and IAEA inspectors believed that even if North Korea made the UF6 in question, it was unlikely that Pyongyang intended to sell it to Libya. It added that North Korea may have sold the material to Pakistan, which resold it to Libya. Another theory is that North Korea sold raw uranium to Pakistan, where it was converted into UF6 and sold to Libya, the paper said.
David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, would not rule out that the UF6 came from North Korea but told the paper, "That has been a theory since last spring. What amazes me is why this is coming out again now. The timing has to make one suspicious that the information is being used to pressure allies to take a tougher line with North Korea."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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