North Korea accused of exporting nuclear technology

A new U.N. report, released this week, alleges that North Korea knowingly transferred and sold nuclear weapons technologies and ballistic missile technologies to several nations, including those under international scrutiny such as Iran, Syria, and Myanmar. The expert panel who compiled the report, reporting to the U.N. Security Council, states that North Korea is subverting the sanctions that the U.N. have imposed, using “overseas entities, shell companies, informal transfer mechanisms, cash couriers and barter arrangements” in order to avoid the attention of financial watchdogs.

North Korea has apparently become one of the primary sources of arms and weapons technology for other nations which have similarly been alienated by the international community. The report alleges that a substantial amount of the foreign capital flow into North Korea comes from such agreements. As such, the report vows to take further action to prevent such proliferation from continuing to occur, although it is unclear on how it may do so.

In addition, the report uncovers the use of direct air shipments of weapons and nuclear technology from North Korea to nations such as Iran, avoiding inspections in intermediary stops. Techniques such as “knock-down kits,” where sophisticated weapons are broken down into their components, delivered separately to an assembly location, and easily re-assembled–often with the assistance of North Korean technicians and specialists–make efforts to hinder North Korea’s exporting operations even more difficult.

Embroiled in a succession dilemma, cut off from the rest of the world, and his nuclear technology-proliferating ring uncovered, Kim Jong Il is certainly in a tough spot. How the international community responds to both the exporter and the suspected buyers though, is yet to be determined.

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