N. Korean Defectors Testify on Weapons
Guardian, UK - Wednesday May 21, 2003 12:39 AM
... North Korea's nuclear industry depended on foreign imports, Lee said, ``Ninety percent of the parts came from Japan.'' He suggested the arrangement was informal, which means the transactions were not approved by the Japanese government...
----------------------------------
Korea
PYONGYANG WATCH Beware defective tales of defectors
Asia Times Online / May 21
...Secrecy makes the facts hard to confirm: the world of spooks is one of mirrors and lies. Defectors may exaggerate their own importance; activists and governments alike have axes to grind.
On that basis, I for one am skeptical of a tall tale from Tokyo. The June issue of the Japanese magazine Gekkan Gendai carries an interview with one An Yong-chol (not his real name), somewhere in Asia. An claims to be a Korean People's Army general, who fled last year. According to him, Kim Jong-il's arsenal is even fatter and fiercer than we'd thought: dozens of nukes, already (some secretly imported from the Soviet Union), missiles with an 8,000-kilometer range - watch out, LA - 20 MiG-31 fighters, and more.
And I'm Madonna. Japanese experts are dubious of this scoop; one even suggested An is a Pyongyang plant, who "wants to whip up fear as a gift for the North".