NHK reported on the 28th that 10 North Korean engineers who took part in the construction of the Syria nuclear facility died in the Israeli bombing of the facility in September, 2007.
NHK quoted a South Korean intelligence agent as confirming that “most of the 10 casualties were agents of the 99th Department under the Ministry of the Munitions Industry of the Workers Party. They were all cremated on the spot and their remains were repatriated to North Korea.”
The 99th Department is an affiliated organization of the Workers Party in charge of exporting weapons and military technology under the direction of Kim Jong Il.
A number of North Korean agents are suspected to have survived the Israeli attack on the Syrian nuclear facility, and South Korean intelligence authorities are in the process of tracing their whereabouts. North Korean soldiers affiliated with the 43rd Military Engineer Brigade are also suspected to have been present at the time of the attack, according to the report by the NHK.
It was also reported by VOA in December, 2007 that six North Korean vessels had been captured by the navy of Sri Lanka and were confirmed to have been carrying shipments of automatic rifles, various types of handheld firearms, cannons, and other weaponry purchased by the 99th Department from February 28 to late October, 2007.
