A U.S. nuclear nonproliferation expert says recently released reports that show North Korea has delivered uranium concentrate to Iran via Syria and Turkey are very troubling.
Leonard Spector made the statement Tuesday on the Web site of the Monterey Institute of International Studies, where he serves as the deputy director of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.
Spector said that in late February, news reports quoting Western officials claimed that North Korea had delivered 45 tons of unenriched uranium concentrate, known as “yellowcake,” to Syria and that North Korea had subsequently moved the material to Iran via Turkey.
Spector said that although North Korea was believed to have helped Syria construct a reactor designed to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons, no evidence has surfaced publicly that North Korea, Syria, and Iran might be collaborating to advance Tehran’s nuclear capabilities.
His statements come as Japan’s Kyodo News recently quoted sources as saying that Iran is likely to have smuggled in 45 tons of unenriched uranium from North Korea via Syria since last summer.