Japan intercepts N. Korea weapons-grade material bound for Myanmar
November 24, 2012
By YOSHIHIRO MAKINO/ Correspondent
The Wan Hai 313, a cargo vessel from which aluminum alloy was seized in Tokyo in August, is seen in Kobe on Nov. 23. (Kenta Sujino)
Myanmar's military is believed to have inspected this North Korean missile in 2008. (Provided by the Democratic Voice of Burma)
Delegates from the Myanmar military, including Shwe Mann, joint chief of staff, meet with North Korean military officials in November 2008. (Provided by the Democratic Voice of Burma)
North Korea tried to ship materials suitable for uranium enrichment or
missile development to Myanmar via China this year, in violation of a
U.N. Security Council resolution, The Asahi Shimbun has learned.
The shipment included about 50 metal pipes and 15 high-specification
aluminum alloy bars, at least some of them offering the high strength
needed in centrifuges for a nuclear weapons program.
Japan seized the items aboard a cargo vessel docked at Tokyo Port on
Aug. 22, a raid which took place at the request of the United States,
sources told The Asahi Shimbun.
Authorities concluded that the shipment originated in North Korea
because the bars were found to be inscribed "DPRK," although
investigators were unable to confirm the origin from cargo documents or
from the ship's crew, the sources said.
Japan, the United States and South Korea believe Myanmar has abandoned
its one-time nuclear weapons ambitions. This makes officials suspect
that the aluminum alloy may have been intended for use in building
missiles instead.
A South Korean government source said Myanmar may have been trying to
develop short-range missiles in the event of border disputes with its
neighbors.
The United States is among nations now easing sanctions against Myanmar
and supporting its move toward democracy. On Nov. 19, Barack Obama, the
first serving U.S. president to visit Myanmar, met with President Thein
Sein in Yangon and requested that he sever military ties with North
Korea.
The revelation of apparent continued links could hamper international
reconciliation. And Pyongyang has complained of U.S. pressure on Myanmar
to end relations.
It will also likely cause international criticism of Myanmar and China,
which have both denied violating the U.N. ban on North Korean exports of
weapons and related materials.
The cargo was to have been delivered to Soe Ming Htike, a Yangon-based
construction company, which the U.S. government believes is a front for
Myanmar's military procurement.
In an interview with The Asahi Shimbun, a company based in Dalian,
China, confirmed that it had tried to send aluminum alloy to Myanmar.
"We became the cargo's owner at the request of a company," an official
said. "We have learned that the cargo was seized, but we do not know
why."
Japanese government officials believe North Korea acquired the aluminum
alloy from China. They said North Korea is unlikely to possess the
technology needed to produce such material.
At a meeting held to discuss the matter, Japanese officials from several
government agencies agreed that the Chinese military—which ultimately
controls its defense industry—must have approved North Korea's exporting
the materials to Myanmar.
The sources said the cargo was loaded onto the 17,138-ton Wan Hai 215, a
Singapore-registered cargo vessel operated by a Taiwanese shipping
company, in Dalian on July 27.
On Aug. 9, the cargo was offloaded and placed aboard the 27,800-ton Wan Hai 313 in Shekou, China.
On Aug. 14, the cargo was scheduled to change ships once again in Malaysia and to reach Yangon Port the following day.
The United States learned about the cargo's possible contents and asked
the Taiwanese shipping company not to carry out the transshipment in
Malaysia.
The Wan Hai 313 entered Tokyo Port on Aug. 22. Officers from Tokyo
Customs, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and other agencies
examined the cargo and found the items in question.
For the first time, Japan applied a special measures law that allows the
government to inspect cargo on ships suspected of carrying weapons and
related materials to and from North Korea.
Meanwhile, the discovery could force Japan, the United States and South Korea to review their nuclear nonproliferation policy.
A Japanese government source said since North Korea has no apparent
difficulty procuring the necessary aluminum alloy it now likely "has
acquired a large number of centrifuges."
In November 2010, North Korea showed centrifuges to U.S. experts at a
nuclear facility at Yongbyon. Officials claimed there were 2,000
centrifuges, enough to produce 40 kilograms of highly enriched uranium
in one year, if certain conditions are met. That amount is sufficient
for one or two nuclear bombs.
The U.S. and South Korean intelligence agencies suspect that North Korea
is operating additional underground uranium enrichment facilities
elsewhere.
"North Korea would never disclose all its cards," one South Korean government source said. "There must be other facilities."
It is difficult to monitor the activities of centrifuges with an
intelligence satellite because the site needed is small compared with
the large reactor needed to produce plutonium for bombs.
North Korea and Myanmar have had military ties for years.
Sources quoted Shwe Mann, speaker of Myanmar's lower house, as recently
telling Japanese government officials that North Korea has yet to
deliver some weapons ordered by Myanmar in the past. But, the speaker
insisted, Myanmar would pursue no new weapons purchases from North
Korea.
Shwe Mann's remark effectively contradicts Myanmar's official stance
that it has not had any military transactions since spring 2011.
The United States and South Korea learned that Myanmar signed contracts
to purchase military supplies from North Korea when Shwe Mann visited
the country in November 2008 as joint chief of staff. Among facilities
Shwe Mann inspected was a North Korean missile factory.
In January, a ship arrived at Yangon Port via China, carrying cargo that
had been loaded in Nampho, North Korea, ordered by an organization
affiliated with the Myanmar military.
"The cargo was a primary machine tool for weapons manufacture," said a
diplomatic source in Yangon. "Military ties between Myanmar and North
Korea have not been cut off."
North Korean military engineers have been spotted in Myanmar, as well as
officials from a company that procures personal funds for the North
Korean leader, Kim Jong Un.
The U.S. and South Korean intelligence agencies have stationed personnel
at airports and ports in Myanmar to monitor traffic, but North Koreans
are apparently traveling by land through China, sources said.
Investigations by Japan and the United States have found that Myanmar
has—at some point—imported from North Korea weapons that include
mortars.
Myanmar has also informally told the United States it built underground
tunnels near Naypyidaw and elsewhere with technical assistance from the
North Korean military.
Japan, the United States and South Korea have refrained from disclosing
details about military ties between North Korea and Myanmar.
"If we went public with that, we would thrust Myanmar closer to China and North Korea," said one Japanese government source.
Meanwhile, a Chinese government source criticized the approach of countries such as the United States toward Myanmar.
"It does not contain only niceties, such as an evaluation of the
pro-democracy movement," the source said. "This is a geopolitical
confrontation between China and the United States."
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