[QODLink]
Middle East
North Korea hosts Syrian delegation
Trip comes amid allegations of a nuclear connection between the two countries.
Last Modified: 23 Sep 2007 16:54 GMT

Pyongyang has denied any nuclear links with Syria,  saying it was sticking to its non-proliferation pledge

Kim Yong Nam, North Korea's titular head of state and number two in the country's government, has met with a Syrian delegation in Pyongyang.
 
Confirmation of the talks, which were held over the past two days, came amid US and Israeli allegations of a nuclear connection between the two countries.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the country's official news outlet, said Kim Yong Nam had had "a friendly talk" with the Syrian delegation, which was led by Saaeed Eleia Dawood, director of the organisational department of Syria's Baath Arab Socialist Party.

'Secret suppliers'

KCNA said the Syrian official expressed satisfaction that the "friendly and cooperative ties" between the two countries "are growing stronger under the deep care of" Bashar Al-Assad, Syria's president and Kim Jong Il, the North Korean leader.

On Friday, the Syrian delegation held talks with Choe Tae Bok, a senior official of the North's ruling Workers' Party.

The delegation's trip to Pyongyang came amid allegations that the North may be providing nuclear assistance to Syria and against the background of an alleged Israeli airstrike on an undisclosed Syrian target on September 6.

Andrew Semmel, acting US deputy assistant secretary of state for nuclear nonproliferation policy, claimed last week that North Koreans were in Syria, and that Syria may have had contacts with "secret suppliers" to obtain nuclear equipment.

Pyongyang has angrily denied helping Syria, insisting it was sticking to an earlier pledge not to allow the transfer of nuclear materials.

In a landmark six-nation deal brokered in February, North Korea agreed to dismantle all its nuclear facilities and programmes in exchange for diplomatic concessions, energy and other aid.

Source:
Agencies
Topics in this article
Country
City
Featured on Al Jazeera
In the frozen peaks of Afghanistan's Kunar province, a ferocious clash for supremacy rages amid the mountaintops.
Indigenous community with "third world conditions" sits 90km from diamond mine, prompting fight for resource royalties.
There is a unique and dangerous commerce system at work in Amazonia, where children risk their lives for a few pennies.
Organisations that influence social, cultural and political issues in the US have been hijacked by the far right.
<  > 
join our mailing list

Enter Zip Code
Go