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Iran Is Seeking North Korea's Nuclear Expertise

[Telegraph-UK] Con Coughlin - Iran and North Korea have appointed high-level delegations to deepen cooperation on nuclear weapons technology, according to diplomatic sources in Beijing. The countries are keen to seal a deal before North Korea starts to close its Yongbyon reactor under the terms of an agreement with the U.S. and regional powers in February. The U.S. State Department has demanded that North Korea should "immediately" invite the International Atomic Energy Agency to begin sealing the facility. Iran has taken advantage of the delay to intensify attempts to negotiate a deal that would give Teheran access to the nuclear expertise North Korea acquired during last year's atom bomb test. Iranian scientists have been invited to Pyongyang to study data collected from the test. Although North Korea has agreed to shut the Yongbyon reactor, the agreement puts no limits on North Korea to export the expertise it acquired from the test. The Iranian delegation handling negotiations with North Korea reports directly to Reza Aghazadeh, the country's vice president and the head of the Atomic Energy Organization. Meetings have taken place at the Chinese border city of Shenyang, because the Iranians are keen not to draw attention to their increased cooperation with Pyongyang.
2007-04-17 01:00:00
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