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Libyan Nuclear Weapons Design Originated in China
Investigators have determined that the nuclear weapons designs obtained by Libya from an international nuclear network headed by a top Pakistani nuclear scientist originated in China, the Washington Post reported Sunday (see GSN, Feb. 13). The designs, which were shipped to the United States last month, have been analyzed by experts from the United States, the United Kingdom and the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Post reported. According to government officials and arms experts, the designs contained detailed instructions for building an implosion-type nuclear bomb that could be employed on a large ballistic missile. The designs also included instructions for producing components for the bomb, the officials and experts said. “It was just what you’d have on the factory floor. It tells you what torque to use on the bolts and what glue to use on the parts,” one weapons expert who had reviewed the blueprints said. In an interview with the Post, the expert described the designs as “very, very old” but “very well engineered.” The officials and experts also said that some important parts were missing in the designs. Some investigators have suggested that the missing sections may have been lost, or may have been withheld until further payment was received, the Post reported. Others suggested the designs were a type of bonus included with the purchase of uranium enrichment equipment (Warrick/Slevin, Washington Post, Feb. 15). China today refused to comment on reports that the nuclear weapons designs found in Libya were of Chinese origin, according to Agence France-Presse. “At present, we have learned of the relevant situation from some reports. ... We are paying attention to such reports," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said (Agence France-Presse/Aljazeera.net, Feb. 17). IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei is expected to travel to Libya next week to review the progress made in dismantling Tripoli’s nuclear program, said agency spokesman Mark Gwozdecky. A Western diplomat close to the IAEA said the purpose of the visit would be for Libyan officials to “touch base” with ElBaradei ahead of an IAEA Board of Governors meeting scheduled to be held next month. At that meeting, ElBaradei is expected to present a report on Libya’s nuclear weapons program (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Feb. 16). Meanwhile, a U.S. congressional delegation that met with Libyan leader Col. Muammar Qadhafi Friday told him that he must acknowledge personal responsibility for the 1988 bombing of an airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, for U.S.-Libyan relations to improve, a member of the delegation said Saturday. During the meeting, Qadhafi criticized militants in general and expressed “sympathy” over the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, said Representative John Sweeney (R-N.Y.). He added, though, that Qadhafi refused to take responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing or for the 1985 bombing of a discotheque in Berlin that killed two, including a U.S. serviceman. Qadhafi “acted as though he had never engaged in terrorism himself," Sweeney said. “He essentially danced away from responsibility as far as he could and frankly changed the subject,” Sweeney added (Baltimore Sun, Feb. 15).
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