Nuclear Weapons 342 - Germany Investigating North Korean Purchase Of Dual Use Technologies
It is not surprising that North Korea has received help from other nations with nuclear weapons in the development of its nuclear weapons program. Russia was part of the Soviet Union which was a communist nation. North Korea is a communist nation. Soviet help was ideologically based. China is still a communist nation and has ideological reasons to help North Korea with nuclear weapons. Then there are other countries such as Pakistan whose assistance to North Korea in developing their nuclear arsenal was probably based on profit. Iran and North Korea perceive that they have a common enemy in the U.S., so they have cooperated on nuclear weapons development and missile development. People and companies in other nations may have helped North Korea, but their assistance is not sanctioned by their governments.
The German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (FOPC) has uncovered evidence that the North Korean embassy in Germany has been working to purchase equipment that could be used for the production of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons over the past two years. The head of the FOPC said, “We discovered procurement activities taking place there, which we believe were focused on the missile program, and also to some extent on the nuclear program.” “When we detect something of this sort, we take steps to prevent it,” “But we can't guarantee that we are able to detect and prevent every case.”
The technologies in question are referred to as “dual use” technologies. They can be used for either peaceful commercial purposes or military purposes such as missiles and weapons production. N.K. went to markets for peaceful uses or had front companies in Germany purchase the technologies in question. The head of the OPC did not offer any details about what technologies N.K. had obtained from Germany.
Germany is one of the few European countries that has maintained diplomatic relations with N.K. During the Cold War before the Soviet Union fell, communist East Germany considered N.K. an ally. Germany hoped that it would be able to rely on that historic link to give Germany some leverage with N.K. However, Germany did recently decide to pull several diplomats for its Pyongyang embassy after the series of missile tests last year. It has also asked N.K. to remove some of their diplomats from Germany.
N.K. continues to defy international sanctions by exporting coal, iron, steel and other commodities that had been banned. The U.S. has accused both Russia and China of continuing to trade with N.K. Apparently both are guilty of clandestinely export oil to N.K.
Mike Pence, the Vice President of the U.S., has criticized N.K. One of his aides relayed some of Pence’s comments with respect to N.K. and the Olympics: "The Vice President will remind the world that everything the North Koreans do at the Olympics is a charade to cover up the fact that they are the most tyrannical and oppressive regime on the planet.” “At every opportunity, the V.P. will point out the reality of the oppression in North Korea by a regime that has enslaved its people. We will not allow North Korea’s propaganda to hijack the messaging of the Olympics.”
German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution logo (in German):
