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Musharraf Refutes Charges That Pakistan Aided North Korean Nuclear Efforts
Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf yesterday again denied charges that his country had helped North Korea’s nuclear weapons program (see GSN, May 14). In an interview with the Korea Times, Musharraf, who is currently visiting South Korea, denied that Pakistan had provided North Korea with materials for use in either Pyongyang’s nuclear or ballistic missile efforts. “The reality is that during the four years that I have been president I can say with full guarantee that no proliferation has ever taken place. There has been no defense collaboration with North Korea,” Musharraf said. “This is a baseless allegation,” he added. Musharraf acknowledged Pakistan’s past military cooperation with North Korea, but said it had been of a limited nature. “We have had relations and defense cooperation with North Korea and we have bought surface-to-air missiles in the past because of a threat to us. But now we produce [these] ourselves,” he said (Shim/Miller, Korea Times, Nov. 5). Pakistan remains committed to a policy of nuclear nonproliferation, Musharraf said. “Nuclear nonproliferation is the central pillar of our nuclear policy and we have the strictest standards in this regard. As a responsible nuclear power, Pakistan is aware of the great perils of nuclear technology falling into the wrong hands,” he said. Musharraf also said that Pakistan was prepared to help resolve the crisis surrounding North Korea’s nuclear program, adding that he “fully supported” the six-nation talks held in August in an effort to seek a solution (see related GSN story, today). “Pakistan remains extremely concerned about the current nuclear standoff between North Korea and Washington. We believe that such a grave crisis needs to be resolved through dialogue and negotiations,” he said (Korea Herald, Nov. 6).
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