Author:
Publication: The Hindustan
Times
Date: August 17, 2000
INDIA'S WORST fears over
Pakistan's covert missile development programme have come true. North
Korean leader Kim Jong II has reportedly confirmed his country was selling
missiles to Pakistan.
According to an agency
report from Washington, Mr Kim Jong is reported to have divulged this to
a delegation of South Korean media executives visiting Pyongyang.
The report stated that Kim mocked US fears of N. Korea's development
efforts and boasted that "I made the missile problem."
The leader, according
to the report, also confirmed the long-held suspicion that his country
was selling missiles to Pakistan, Syria and Iran. Mr Kim has been
quoted as saying "for a strong nation to keep its pride it has confront
powerful big nations."
The statement comes as
no surprise as in the past India has drawn world's attention to the rapid
missile proliferation in the sub-continent. Significantly, while
other countries in the neighbourhood have been testing ballistic missiles
capable of striking Indian cities, New Delhi has tested only one intermediate
range ballistic missile (Agni II) in the past five years.
During the same period,
Pakistan has test-fired the 1,500-km range Ghauri missile which, according
to defence experts, is actually the Nodong I missile of N. Korea.
Pakistan has also gone ahead and unveiled Ghauri II and Shaheen, which
are said to be exact copies of Chinese M-9 missiles.
N. Korea's covert
nexus with Pakistan became clear when the Indian Customs authorities detained
a Korean ship, Ku Wol San, at Kandla port during the Kargil war.
The ship last year, was carrying 300 tonnes of missile related cargo.
The cargo consisted of equipment and engineering drawings.
