NORTH KOREA-PAKISTAN NUCLEAR NEXUS PART-I
By Sreedhar
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)
officially announced on September 19, that it is winding up its nuclear
development programme with immediate effect. It is the second country, after
South Africa, to give up its nuclear weapons programme. However, North Korea's
nuclear development programme is significant in two ways. It has been training
specialists and accumulating technologies - since the 1970s with the assistance
from China and the erstwhile USSR. Its admission to the US special envoy, James
Kelly in 2003 that it possessed a nuclear programme contained an element of
immense significance for India. It may be mentioned that the communist country's
nuclear programme was based on the process of uranium enrichment, as against its
pre-1994 nuclear programme, which was based on plutonium reprocessing. The North
Koreans obtained this uranium enrichment technology from Pakistan in return for
intermediate range ballistic missile technology.
The first report on DPRK's nuclear programme came in 1993 when analysts found
satellite reconnaissance evidence that a North Korean reprocessing centre in
Yongbyon was processing plutonium. This led to a diplomatic confrontation
between the US and North Korea and finally in 1994 the Agreed Framework, the US
obtained a pledge from North Korea to freeze its nuclear programme in Yongbyon.
In exchange US, Japan and South Korea promised to give the North technological
assistance to build a peaceful nuclear programme. The agreement that was signed
in Geneva (21 October 1994) called for:
a) North Korea to freeze its existing nuclear programme under enhanced
International Atomic Energy Association Safeguards;
b) Both sides agreed to cooperate to replace North Korea's graphite moderate
reactors with light water power plants;
c) To move toward normalization of political and economic relations;
d) To work towards peace and security in the Korean Peninsula;
e) To strengthen the international nuclear non-proliferation regime.
The main aim of the agreement was to eliminate North Korea's ability to make
nuclear arms, with the North agreeing to freeze and eventually dismantle its
existing nuclear programme. In return, Pyongyang would be provided with
alternative energy in the form of heavy oil to compensate for the freeze in the
nuclear facilities. The agreement also called for the international inspection
of the Yongbyon sites and the Energy Department experts from the US were allowed
to encase the spent fuel rods at the centre to ensure that they could not be
used for warheads. However it is believed that by then the North had been able
to produce about 26 pounds of weapons grade plutonium, enough to make 1 or 2
bombs.
In the second half of 1996, the US Intelligence agencies became aware of an
underground facility at Kumbhang-ri, believed to house an underground nuclear
reactor for plutonium reprocessing operations. In May 1999, the US pressurized
North Korea to allow an inspection of the installation. When finally North Korea
allowed the inspection, the US found a series of empty tunnels with no
underground chamber big enough to hold a nuclear reactor. Another inspection in
May 2000 had the same results.
The first suspicion that the North Koreans had probably acquired uranium
enrichment technology came in 1998 when media reports quoted a confidential
study by the Japanese Defence Agency, which had concluded that there was a
possibility that Pakistan had transferred nuclear technology to the country in
return for medium range missile. In 1999, a Major General of the Korean People's
Army (KPA), Lee Chhun Sen, who defected to China, also revealed to the Chinese
authorities that a uranium enrichment plant was situated 30 kms away from
Kumchang-ri, in a tunnel in Chhenma Mountains.
The cooperation between North Korea and Pakistan in the field of missile
development and nuclear technology are inter-linked. Ever since the
establishment of diplomatic relations (1972) between the two countries, there
has been cooperation in the field of defence between two. North Korea supplied
Pakistan with small arms as early as 1970s. And in November 1972, the two sides
signed an agreement on weapons sales and military cooperation.
During the second tenure of Benazir Bhutto as a Prime Minister of Pakistan there
was an acceleration of missile cooperation with North Korea. Pakistan is known
to have initiated discussion with North Korea for the sale of SCUD
surface-to-surface (SSM) missiles in 1991. In August 1992, a part of a Pakistani
military delegation that was visiting China broke away to visit North Korea and
toured the SCUD missile and air defence weapons factories in North Korea. The
delegation was led by Major General Ejaz Akhtar, the Director General (Ordnance
Development) and Brig. Hamid, Director (Defence Procurement) and Col. Arshad Jan
and Dr. Aslam Shahid from the A.Q. Khan Laboratories, Kahuta. A couple of months
later, a North Korean delegation headed by Myong-ku, ex-Ambassador of North
Korea to Pakistan, visited the country in October 1992 and discussed the supply
of sub-systems like rocket motors, inertial guidance, control and testing
equipment related to the Scud SSMs. The negotiations also included the transfer
of the complete technology for the eventual production of these missiles in
Pakistan.
In the same year, North Korea's Deputy Foreign Minister, Yongnam visited
Pakistan, with the sale of the Nodong missile high on his agenda for discussion.
As a follow up to this Pakistani scientists were invited to watch missile tests
by North Korea on 29-30 May 1993. In December 1993, Prime Minister Benazir
Bhutto visited Pyongyang along with a high level delegation during which, a
number of agreements related to the purchase of arms, and defence hardware were
signed.
Shortly thereafter, Pakistan established a ballistic missile project to acquire
and manufacture the Nodong missile. Pakistan called it Ghauri. Meanwhile,
Pakistan's nuclear programme Chief, A.Q. Khan had been paying frequent visits to
North Korea. It is believed that he visited North Korea at least 12 times. These
visits were reciprocated by a number of North Korean teams. Significant among
them was the clandestine visit in March 1994 of the Vice-President of the North
Korean company Changgwang Sinyong, known to be a front organization for
exporting weapons. In November 1995, a military delegation led by Choe Kwang,
Vice Chairman of the National Defence Commission visited Pakistan and met senior
Pak leaders and defence officials. -CNF
(The writer was a Senior Fellow at Institute for Defence
Studies and Analyses, New Delhi)