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Transfer of centrifuge did not help N. Korea, says Musharraf
ISLAMABAD (Online): President General Pervez Musharraf has denied the allegations that transfers of centrifuges designs to North Korea by Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan helped N Korea’s bid to acquire nuclear weapons.
In an interview to Japanese news agency Kyodo, here on Wednesday president confirmed that Dr Khan provided centrifuge machines and their designs to North Korea but played down the role these transfers have played in the North Korean bid to acquire a nuclear weapons capability.
Khan confessed in February 2004 to having supplied nuclear technology and know-how to North Korea, Libya and Iran. He was pardoned by Musharraf but remains under virtual house arrest in Islamabad.
Musharraf said Khan could not have been of immense help to North Korea nuclear weapons programs because his laboratory was engaged in uranium enrichment, and was not involved in the other steps needed to make a nuclear bomb such as conversion of uranium into gas and development of the trigger mechanism and delivery systems.
‘’So if North Korea has made a bomb...Dr. A.Q. Khan’s part is only enriching the uranium to weapons grade. He does not know about making the bomb, he does not know about the trigger mechanism, he does not know about the delivery system,’’ he said.
For those things, he said, the North Koreans ‘’must have got it themselves or somewhere else — not from Pakistan.’’
Asked to comment on reports that Pakistan has told Japanese government officials that Khan gave about 20 centrifuges to North Korea, Musharraf said, ‘’Yes, he passed centrifuges — parts and complete. I do not exactly remember the number.’’
Musharraf said he was unsure whether Khan had provided UF6 gas, which is passed through the centrifuges to enrich uranium, to North Korea, as reported by some international media.
But he called it immaterial since only one or two cylinders of UF6 would be insufficient for a nuclear program. Likewise, he said, it is immaterial whether Khan visited North Korea 10, 20 or even 30 times since he could provide only limited help or information.
‘’Again, if A.Q. Khan had given UF6 gas, some cylinders, it is not enough. It needs tons and tons of UF6 gas to make enrich uranium, to go through thousands of centrifuges to be able to produce 1 kilogram of enriched uranium.
So even if he has provided some gas, it is immaterial. They need so much more,’’ he said.
Musharraf said Khan knows practically nothing about the trigger mechanism for a nuclear bomb, without which enriched uranium would be merely ‘’sort of a mass’’ lying around.
Musharraf rejected media reports that Khan had bartered uranium enrichment secrets for North Korean help in Pakistan’s program to develop the medium-range Ghauri missile, which is believed to be an improved version of North Korea’s Rodong missile.
He said Pakistan had cooperated with North Korea in the production of conventional weapons when it developed the shoulder-fired Anza missile and received artillery equipment. But there was never any bilateral cooperation in the ‘’strategic,’’ or nuclear, field, he insisted.
‘’No, no, that did not happen at all. We had a certain relationship with North Korea in conventional weapons. We got some artillery pieces from North Korea, once upon a time, many years back. So this was the relationship with North Korea.’’
‘’We paid for each and every item that we got from North Korea. There was no exchange of knowledge or equipment. That is absolutely wrong,’’ he said regarding the allegations of a technology swap involving nuclear and missile technology and know-how.
Musharraf said Pakistan has since severed its defense cooperation with North Korea in the production of conventional weapons.
Musharraf also confirmed that Khan made three trips to Mali between 1998 and 2000 to meet Libyan officials interested in procuring uranium technology from Pakistan.
‘’Yes, indeed that is what he was doing,’’ Musharraf said when asked to comment the trips Khan made there, ostensibly to study the Islamic heritage of the ancient town of Timbuktu, in February 1998, February 1999 and February 2000.
Musharraf said that like all the other nuclear powers, Pakistan bought from the nuclear underground market for its nuclear program but was now completely self-sufficient in the nuclear and missile technology.
He said that even United States and Soviet Union developed their nuclear programs ‘’through underground means’’ by getting nuclear technology from the black market, from the Germans and by covertly getting information about each others’ programs.
‘’There has been proliferation by everyone, in respective countries, at some stage. Pakistan has also got this (technology) from someone,’’ he said.
‘’But now we are totally self-contained, in all the facets of nuclear development, in all the facets of missile development. We do not borrow, we do not get from anyone.’’
Musharraf said the problem before was that Khan was running a totally autonomous organization with complete financial authority and his own security and intelligence system, which made it possible for him to proliferate.
But now, he said, all the strategic assets of the Pakistani army, air force and navy have been brought under the command of Strategic Armed Force, a new wing of the Pakistan Defense Services that he has created.
Furthermore, a national command authority, the Strategic Planning Division, has been set up to oversee the finances of the strategic organizations and check against proliferation.
Musharraf added Pakistan is sharing all the information about Khan’s nuclear proliferation activities with Japan and Western countries.
Pakistan, he said, is ‘’extremely conscious’’ of Japanese sensitivity about North Korea’s nuclear programs and has been sharing the information obtained from Khan with Japan.
‘’We know that Japan is the only country which has been subject to nuclear attacks. So we are aware of its sensitivity. Moreover, Japan is very close to Pakistan. Japan has helped us commercially and economically,’’ he said.
‘’Whatever Dr. A.Q. Khan has told us,’’ Pakistan has conveyed the information to Japan and Western nations, the president said.
http://frontierpost.com.pk/
ISLAMABAD (Online): President General Pervez Musharraf has denied the allegations that transfers of centrifuges designs to North Korea by Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan helped N Korea’s bid to acquire nuclear weapons.
In an interview to Japanese news agency Kyodo, here on Wednesday president confirmed that Dr Khan provided centrifuge machines and their designs to North Korea but played down the role these transfers have played in the North Korean bid to acquire a nuclear weapons capability.
Khan confessed in February 2004 to having supplied nuclear technology and know-how to North Korea, Libya and Iran. He was pardoned by Musharraf but remains under virtual house arrest in Islamabad.
Musharraf said Khan could not have been of immense help to North Korea nuclear weapons programs because his laboratory was engaged in uranium enrichment, and was not involved in the other steps needed to make a nuclear bomb such as conversion of uranium into gas and development of the trigger mechanism and delivery systems.
‘’So if North Korea has made a bomb...Dr. A.Q. Khan’s part is only enriching the uranium to weapons grade. He does not know about making the bomb, he does not know about the trigger mechanism, he does not know about the delivery system,’’ he said.
For those things, he said, the North Koreans ‘’must have got it themselves or somewhere else — not from Pakistan.’’
Asked to comment on reports that Pakistan has told Japanese government officials that Khan gave about 20 centrifuges to North Korea, Musharraf said, ‘’Yes, he passed centrifuges — parts and complete. I do not exactly remember the number.’’
Musharraf said he was unsure whether Khan had provided UF6 gas, which is passed through the centrifuges to enrich uranium, to North Korea, as reported by some international media.
But he called it immaterial since only one or two cylinders of UF6 would be insufficient for a nuclear program. Likewise, he said, it is immaterial whether Khan visited North Korea 10, 20 or even 30 times since he could provide only limited help or information.
‘’Again, if A.Q. Khan had given UF6 gas, some cylinders, it is not enough. It needs tons and tons of UF6 gas to make enrich uranium, to go through thousands of centrifuges to be able to produce 1 kilogram of enriched uranium.
So even if he has provided some gas, it is immaterial. They need so much more,’’ he said.
Musharraf said Khan knows practically nothing about the trigger mechanism for a nuclear bomb, without which enriched uranium would be merely ‘’sort of a mass’’ lying around.
Musharraf rejected media reports that Khan had bartered uranium enrichment secrets for North Korean help in Pakistan’s program to develop the medium-range Ghauri missile, which is believed to be an improved version of North Korea’s Rodong missile.
He said Pakistan had cooperated with North Korea in the production of conventional weapons when it developed the shoulder-fired Anza missile and received artillery equipment. But there was never any bilateral cooperation in the ‘’strategic,’’ or nuclear, field, he insisted.
‘’No, no, that did not happen at all. We had a certain relationship with North Korea in conventional weapons. We got some artillery pieces from North Korea, once upon a time, many years back. So this was the relationship with North Korea.’’
‘’We paid for each and every item that we got from North Korea. There was no exchange of knowledge or equipment. That is absolutely wrong,’’ he said regarding the allegations of a technology swap involving nuclear and missile technology and know-how.
Musharraf said Pakistan has since severed its defense cooperation with North Korea in the production of conventional weapons.
Musharraf also confirmed that Khan made three trips to Mali between 1998 and 2000 to meet Libyan officials interested in procuring uranium technology from Pakistan.
‘’Yes, indeed that is what he was doing,’’ Musharraf said when asked to comment the trips Khan made there, ostensibly to study the Islamic heritage of the ancient town of Timbuktu, in February 1998, February 1999 and February 2000.
Musharraf said that like all the other nuclear powers, Pakistan bought from the nuclear underground market for its nuclear program but was now completely self-sufficient in the nuclear and missile technology.
He said that even United States and Soviet Union developed their nuclear programs ‘’through underground means’’ by getting nuclear technology from the black market, from the Germans and by covertly getting information about each others’ programs.
‘’There has been proliferation by everyone, in respective countries, at some stage. Pakistan has also got this (technology) from someone,’’ he said.
‘’But now we are totally self-contained, in all the facets of nuclear development, in all the facets of missile development. We do not borrow, we do not get from anyone.’’
Musharraf said the problem before was that Khan was running a totally autonomous organization with complete financial authority and his own security and intelligence system, which made it possible for him to proliferate.
But now, he said, all the strategic assets of the Pakistani army, air force and navy have been brought under the command of Strategic Armed Force, a new wing of the Pakistan Defense Services that he has created.
Furthermore, a national command authority, the Strategic Planning Division, has been set up to oversee the finances of the strategic organizations and check against proliferation.
Musharraf added Pakistan is sharing all the information about Khan’s nuclear proliferation activities with Japan and Western countries.
Pakistan, he said, is ‘’extremely conscious’’ of Japanese sensitivity about North Korea’s nuclear programs and has been sharing the information obtained from Khan with Japan.
‘’We know that Japan is the only country which has been subject to nuclear attacks. So we are aware of its sensitivity. Moreover, Japan is very close to Pakistan. Japan has helped us commercially and economically,’’ he said.
‘’Whatever Dr. A.Q. Khan has told us,’’ Pakistan has conveyed the information to Japan and Western nations, the president said.
http://frontierpost.com.pk/
However, Musharraf admits that Pakistan gave the centrifuges and the designs but is categorical that Pakistan gave no help beyond that.
North Korea's nuclear prowess is worrisome and it does affect the strategic balance. Therefore, could it be that China provided the same (Colonel could comment)?
It maybe true that AQ Khan only knew how to enrich and not make the bombs. One wonders who then helped make the bombs. Pakistanis themselves or some foreign expert. If the latter, then, who?
In so far as the delivery system, Pakistan had none themselves. So they could not have given the same and instead obtained it from North Korea. But then, Musharraf denies this too. Does it mean that Pakistan made the same on their own, even though the design appears a copy of the North Korean missile? Or did some other country give it to them?
The justification for Pakistan's stealing the nuke technology as per Musharraf is that the US and USSR also stole it. So it is a non sequitur.
Whatever be the justification for parting with the nuke technology with the unstable North Korea, the end result is that the Far East has become internationally an ubstable area which can explode anytime Baby Kim has a bad nightmare.
The question now is how do we disarm North Korea.
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