US/North Korea/Syria

North Korea, Syria not working in tandem on nukes, says US negotiator

Article published on the 2008-04-25 Latest update 2008-04-25 06:34 TU

Christopher Hill
(Photo: Reuters)

US chief nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill said Friday North Korea and Syria are no longer working on nuclear projects together, following allegations by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that Pyongyang helped Syria build a secret reactor. Damascus called the charges "a ridiculous story".

The CIA released a video Thursday which purported to show that a military-purpose reactor was nearly completed but was destroyed by Israel in September.

The intelligence agency's director Michael Hayden briefed members of three top Senate and Congress committees on evidence he described as "compelling".

But Rania al-Masri, at the University of Balamund in north Lebanon, told RFI that, after its claims to the UN before the Iraq war, Washington's claims lack credibility. 

International Atomic Energy Agency head Mohamed El-Baradei deplored the fact that this intelligence was not provided to the agency, "in accordance with the Agency's responsibilities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), prior to the use of force by Israel," the agency said in a statement.

The IAEA also condemned the unilateral military action taken by Israel as undermining their nuclear verification process.

Christopher Hill, who is the US's representative at six-nation talks to persuade Pyongyang to drop its nuclear arms plans, played down the importance of the charges.

"It is the judgment of the United States that there is not an ongoing cooperation with Syria in this area", he said.

North Korea recently went back to the negotiating table for the six-party talks on ending nuclear use on the Korean peninsula earlier this month after a long stalemate.

After Hayden's briefing, committee members said that the development could scuttle last year's deal, which offered energy aid and diplomatic and security benefits in exchange for full de-nuclearisation.

Although previously hailed by the Bush administration as a breakthrough, some US media outlets indicate that conservatives want to sabotage what they see as a weak deal.