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North Korea missiles get boost
from outside
Jon Herskovitz
Reuters
Sunday February 3, 2008
North Korea received a huge boost from Soviet technology to
develop its ballistic missiles and still relies on foreign suppliers
for key components, a report obtained on the weekend said.
North Korea has built hundreds of ballistic missiles that can
strike all of South Korea and most of Japan. Its production and
sales of the weapons are considered major security concerns.
"The country is nearly self-sufficient in ballistic missile
production, but still relies upon some advanced foreign technologies
and components, particularly from overseas," said the report
from Daniel Pinkston, an expert on the North's missile programs.
(Article continues below)
Pinkston, a Korean affairs specialist for the International Crisis
Group, said in his paper soon to be published by U.S. Army War
College's Strategic Studies Institute that North Korea can build
airframes, tanks and other basic missile components.
The impoverished state has set up front companies to buy sensitive
missile components overseas such as guidance systems in order
to avoid international trade restrictions, the report said.
International pariah North Korea was hit with a new round of
sanctions in 2006 after it defied international warnings and launched
a series of ballistic missiles in July of that year followed by
its first nuclear test three months later.
"International export controls and denial strategies have
made it increasingly difficult to procure dual-use items and technologies,"
the report said.
North Korea intensified missile production from 1987-1992. Its
ability to quickly field new systems with little to no testing
indicates it received proven technology from the Soviet Union,
which was then the North's main benefactor, it said.
Full
article here.
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