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Nuclear Exports

Year/Date Importer Item(s) Remarks
1947-1950 USSR Over 9,000 tons of uranium and an unknown amount of monazite
 
1952 China “nuclear material”
 
1985 USSR $6 billion worth of uranium ore
 
1989 Iran Nuclear expertise Professor Pak Kwan O, a nuclear engineer, visits Iran.
1990s China, Japan, Spain, and Hong Kong 1,500 tons of monazite annually
 
1993 Iran Nuclear missile technology Alleged by German weekly Focus on 24 January 1993.
Mid-August 1994 German citizen Up to 2.5mg of plutonium Prevented; it is unclear whether North Korea is the intended importer or exporter of the plutonium.
March 1996 Pakistan 35 tons of “nuclear material” Prevented; seized in Kaoshiung, Taiwan. A report claims Taiwanese authorities tested a material believed to be “nitroglycerin,” which is not a “nuclear material,” but it could be used in the high-explosive triggering device in a bomb. However, it is unclear whether this shipment is related to nuclear weapons development.
November 2003 Mayanmar Technical assistance possibly related to reactor construction and mining of uranium ore Alleged, but not confirmed. In November 2003, North Korean technicians are reportedly sighted in Myanmar assisting with the unloading of construction equipment at a location not far from a planned reactor site. North Korean mining experts are also allegedly seen in Myanmar assisting in a search for uranium ore. However, the specific timeframe for this alleged prospecting is unclear.
2007 Syria Technical assistance in constructing nuclear reactor for plutonium production Suspected. On 6 September 2007, Israel warplanes bomb a facility in Syria that is allegedly a plutonium production reactor under construction. Media reports speculate that Syria was receiving technical assistance from North Korea in constructing the reactor — later formally alleged in April 2008 by the United States.

Complete citations and further details are available in the nuclear chronology within this country profile. This table includes all types of reported transactions: complete weapon systems, components and special materials, production technologies and information, training and human resources, etc.



Sources:
[1] Deutsche Presse-Agentu
[2] Focus
[3] Hankook Ilbo
[4] Jane's Defense Weekly
[5] Jane's Intelligence Review
[6] KAERI
[7] Korean Federation of Commerce and Industry in Japan
[8] Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency; Lien Ho Pao; Lee Chae Sŭng, Pukhan'ŭl Umjig'i'nŭn Technocrat.
[9] Glenn Kessler, "N. Korea, Syria May Be at Work on Nuclear Facility," Washington Post, 13 September 2007, www.washingtonpost.com
[10] Richard Weitz, "Israeli Air Strike in Syria: International Reactions," Center for Nonproliferation Studies website, 1 November 2007, http://www.cns.miis.edu.
[11] Yonhap News Agency, "US Says North Korea Nuclear Talks to Continue Despite Syria Link," in BBC Monitoring, 25 April 2008, http://web.lexis-nexis.com
[12] Greg Miller and Paul Richter, "The World; U.S. Opens Dossier on Syrian Facility; It Tells Congress that North Korea Helped Build a Nuclear Reactor and that an Israeli Airstrike Destroyed it," Los Angeles Times, 25 April 2008, http://web.lexis-nexis.com
[13] Ewen MacAskill, "US Claims North Korea Helped Build Syria Reactor Plant: Damascus Dismisses Video of Unit Bombed by Israel: Congress Told Site was Set Up to Produce Plutonium," The Guardian, 25 April 2008, htpp://web.lexis-nexis.com
[14] David E. Sanger, "Bush Administration Releases Images to Bolster Its Claims About Syrian Reactor," New York Times, 25 April 2008, in Lexis-Nexis, web.lexis-nexis.com.
[15] Bertil Linter, Clouded alliance - North Korea and Myanmar's covert ties, 17 September 2009, Jane's Intelligence Review from OSC.

 

Updated February 2010


Import Table by Date
 
 
 
Export Table by Date


North Korea Maps
Korean Transliteration
The Second NPT PrepCom for the 2005 Review Conference
North Korea's 11th Supreme People's Assembly Elections
Vinalon, the DPRK, and Chemical Weapons Precursors
Theater Missile Defense (TMD) and Northeast Asian Security
Related Links and Publications
Treaties and Organizations
Korean Transliteration, Geographic Units, and Proper Names
CRS Report for Congress: North Korea's Nuclear Weapons: How Soon an Arsenal?
CRS Report for Congress: North Korea's Nuclear Weapons Program (2006)
NBR: North Korea's Nuclear Weapons (2006)
FAS: Nuclear Weapons Program (2006)
The North Korean Plutonium Stock Mid-2006
The Impact of North Korea's Nuclear Test on Iran Crisis



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CNS This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2010 by MIIS.

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