A Plausible Syria-North Korea Nuclear Scenario: Reactor
by Richardson ~ October 13th, 2007. Filed under: Nuclear Proliferation, Syria.The NYT reports, via “American and foreign officials with access to the intelligence reports,” that:
Israel’s air attack on Syria last month was directed against a site that Israeli and American intelligence analysts judged was a partly constructed nuclear reactor, apparently modeled on one North Korea has used to create its stockpile of nuclear weapons fuel. . .
[. . .]
The attack on the reactor project has echoes of an Israeli raid more than a quarter century ago, in 1981, when Israel destroyed the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq shortly before it was to have begun operating.
[. . .]
By contrast, the facility that the Israelis struck in Syria appears to have been much further from completion, the American and foreign officials said.
[. . .]
Even though it has signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, Syria would not have been obligated to declare the existence of a reactor during the early phases of construction. It would have also had the legal right to complete construction of the reactor, as long as its purpose was to generate electricity. (emphasis added)
The only problem with this is that Syria was not breaking any provision of the NPT by building a reactor, and in fact can legally do so – why not loudly complain about Israel’s actions if that were the case? Still more to the story, I think.
Still, this remains the most likely scenario; nuclear reactor technology rather than nuclear weapons technology, though one can obviously lead to the other.
See this search for previous posts on this topic. H/t the Marmot’s.
October 13th, 2007 at 10:31 pm
Another interesting tidbit came from the KCNA (as unreliable as it is):
http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2007/200710/news10/13.htm#1
That was an odd statement. It may mean nothing, but still made me look twice.
October 13th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
[…] Richardson found an interesting North Korea/Syria Nuclear Scenario: A reactor. Also make sure to see the hat tip at Marmot’s Hole. There is really no use for me to make a post when this is being covered very well. Also, One Free Korea’s Summit Perceptions. [?] Share This Sphere: Related Content […]
October 15th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
The English editors for KCNA (and just about every other publication in English from North Korea) have an odd way of saying things at times. Though that NK would complain about not being able to cooperate with Syria in the “nuclear field” is bizarre.
October 17th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
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