N Korea 'hides nuclear village network'
Pastor Dale Morgan
N Korea 'hides nuclear village network'
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By Jack Kim in Seoul
October 31, 2006 09:49pm
Article from: Reuters
NORTH Korea has established secret towns with thousands of closely
guarded residents whose sole mission is to develop nuclear weapons, a
South Korean lawmaker said today.
Up to 36,000 people, including the North's top nuclear scientists and
their families, live in the villages in complete isolation in the
already reclusive country, Conservative Grand National Party lawmaker
Song Young-sun said in a report.
"The areas where they reside are cut off from the outside – not only
geographically but also in terms of contact and communication with
outsiders," Mr Song's report said.
"All actions are heavily monitored," it said, adding that a special
branch of the all-powerful ruling party was responsible for the
top-secret project.
One of Song's aides said the 20-page report was compiled by the lawmaker
and her staff from information collected from various sources including
government agencies.
It was prepared for a session of Parliament's Defence Committee, of
which Song is a member.
The Defence Ministry declined to comment on the report, but analysts
said the contents were plausible.
Mr Song did not disclose the location of the towns, but said they were
likely near known nuclear sites.
The residents of the towns include about 200 top nuclear experts and up
to 9000 support staff and their families.
A North Korea expert at the Korea Institute for National Unification,
Cho Min, said the information was highly credible.
"This is a programme that the North has staked the fate of its regime
on," Cho said, adding strands of Mr Song's report had been told by
refugees from the North.
The Guidance Bureau of the North's Workers' Party of Korea and senior
party secretary Jon Pyong-ho have overall mandate of the nuclear
programmes, Mr Song said.
Mr Jon has been known to be a confidant of the North's leader Kim
Jong-il and is also a member of the powerful Defence Commission, which
Kim heads.
North Korea conducted its first nuclear test on October 9, prompting the
UN to impose sanctions.