Non-Subscriber Extract
US claims North Korea helped Syria build alleged reactor
25 April 2008
The CIA released a briefing to the media on 24 April claiming Syria was constructing a nuclear reactor with North Korean assistance.
The briefing included satellite imagery and three-dimensional modelling of the site (near the town of al Kibar) and apparent still photographs of the building's interior and exterior. Photographs of the alleged reactor in construction are also included.
The information comes as the six-party process negotiating North Korea's nuclear programme is stalling. A deadline for declaration of Pyongyang's plutonium, suspected uranium enrichment and proliferation activities passed on 31 December 2007.
Therefore, the briefing appears designed either to pressure North Korea to co-operate more fully and swiftly in the six-party process, or it could even have been tacitly sanctioned by Pyongyang. This opens the possibility that the source of the photographs, in particular of the alleged Syrian reactor in construction, could have been North Korea.
Whether or not this is the case, the briefing is unlikely to derail the six-party process. Continued co-operation from Pyongyang is likely in the medium term.