Norks, Iran cooperating on nukes

Con Coughlin/Telegraph:

Iran and North Korea have appointed high-level delegations to deepen co-operation between the two countries 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 controversial Yongbyon reactor under the terms of an agreement with the United States and regional powers in February.

The Feb 13 accord was negotiated after North Korea conducted a successful test of a nuclear warhead at the end of last year. Following the international outcry that greeted the test, Pyongyang agreed to close the reactor in return for aid.

But the North Koreans missed the weekend's deadline to start shutting down the reactor, claiming that the United States was refusing to release £15 million of North Korean funds frozen in bank accounts in Macau.

The US state department has demanded that North Korea should "immediately" invite the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to begin sealing the facility.

South Korea said yesterday that it was considering delaying rice aid to North Korea because of Pyongyang's failure to comply with the agreement.

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 already been invited to Pyongyang to study data collected from the test. Beijing-based diplomats responsible for monitoring North Korea say that Iran is now keen to negotiate a deal that would deepen the level of nuclear co-operation.

Although, under the terms of the February agreement, North Korea has agreed to shut the Yongbyon reactor - which provided the fissile material for the nuclear test - the agreement puts no limits on North Korea to export the expertise it acquired from the test.

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If true it would be another example of bad faith on the part of the North Koreans. for the Iranians it might give them some information on how to build a dud nuke. Since neither of these two should be trusted and we know their word is no good, the world needs to deal aggressively with both in shutting down their commerce. For North Korea that is primarily illicit goods and currency. For Iran it is their oil industry. The obvious problem with Iran is that the Europeans are selling the rope with which to hang them.