North Korea may have a secret nuclear program

Scientific tests have led American intelligence agencies and government scientists to conclude with near certainty that &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/main/2002/10/19/38385.html' target=_blank>North Korea sold processed uranium to Libya, bolstering earlier indications that the reclusive state exported sensitive fuel for atomic weapons, according to officials with access to the intelligence.

The determination, which has circulated among senior government officials in recent weeks, has touched off a hunt to determine if North Korea has also sold &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/world/20/91/368/14451_uranium.html' target=_blank>uranium to other countries, including Iran and Syria. So far, there is no evidence that such additional transactions took place, reports Financial Times.

According to the BBC, the first suggestion that North Korea exported enriched uranium to Libya came in a New York Times report in May. This said the International Atomic Energy Association (&to=http:// english.pravda.ru/world/2003/01/16/42143.html' target=_blank>IAEA) had found strong evidence of nuclear links between the two countries as a result of interviews with members of a secret nuclear network set up by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the former head of Pakistan's main nuclear laboratory.

Scientists also found indications of plutonium produced at North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear reactor in the container carrying the uranium, the Washington Post reported.