[imText1]The North Korean disarmament experts’ team, while organizing a 5-day itinerary for their visit to North Korea, was preparing a detailed draft for a method of disarmament. However, in the midst developing a roadmap, the suspicion of a “North Korea-Syria Nuclear Connection” surfaced.

The New York Times quoted a US leader, who requested anonymity, on the 12th as saying, “Israel had recently carried out reconnaissance flights over Syria, taking pictures of possible nuclear installations that Israeli officials believed might have been supplied with material from North Korea.” He added that “Israeli officials believed that North Korea might be unloading some of its nuclear material on Syria.” (The New York Times, published By MARK MAZZETTI and HELENE COOPER on September 12, 2007)

Furthermore, the Washington Post used an anonymous source to report that “ initial reports of suspicious activity are frequently reevaluated over time, and some were skeptical that North Korea and Syria, which have cooperated on missile technology in the past, may have a joint venture in the nuclear arena.” (The Washington Post, by Glenn Kessler on September 13, 2007)

Such reports by the U.S. media exploded suddenly with North Korea’s recent implementation of the initial phase of the “February 13th Agreement” and with the upcoming phase of “disabling nuclear facilities” and “reporting all nuclear programs.” As a result, the related nations of the Six Party Talks, including the U.S., are perplexed.

In light of the fact that the North Korean nuclear experts’ team returned from their five-day visit on a successful note, this news is even more surprising. The North, during the team’s visit, offered a design and map of the Yongbyun nuclear facility and demonstrated a reformed posture of cooperation.

Of course, North Korea’s true intentions can only be verified over time, but to the related countries of the Six Party Talks, including the U.S., their cooperative attitude was enough to raise expectations up a notch regarding the abandonment of nuclear weapons. The disablement experts’ team, with the U.S at its center, investigated in detail facilities they had been wanting to view.

The “draft for disablement” of North Korean nuclear weapons, agreed on by the team, will most likely be concluded at the Six Party Talks, which are to be held on September 19th; but the suspicion of North Korea’s sales of nuclear materials to Syria is slated to be presented as another variable at the talks.

The U.S. delegate to the Six Party Talks and Assistant-Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Christopher Hill, is reported to have said on the 15th that proliferation of nuclear materials, facilities, and programs is a significantly-related part of the Six Party Talks. Hill goes on to clarify his intent to include this issue on the agenda.

In response to the question of whether North Korea must report nuclear engineers and techologies shared with other countries, Assistant-Secretary Hill emphasized that there is a need to seize all nuclear programs, and that any spread of these technologies must be made known.

The U.S. Bush administration, after North Korea’s nuclear experiment in October, 2006, changed its direction to resolving the nuclear weapons issue through the Six Party Talks and other diplomatic efforts. However, North Korea’s proliferation of nuclear materials or technology to third-parties was a red line which North Korea should never have crossed.”

Thus, in the case that suspected North Korean sales of nuclear materials to Syria is revealed as a fact, the situation can only get worse.

However, few percieve that the Six Party Talks will immediately be stranded due to the North Korea-Syria nuclear connection issue.

The question that has been gaining strength is whether U.S. domestic hard-liners have been leaking intelligence to intercept President Bush’s efforts to produce a diplomatic outcome by the end of his term by urgently compromising with North Korea, which has subsequently casted a negative influence on Israel, who has to deal with Iran, Syria, and Lebanon.

When confronted about the possible connection between North Korea and Syria on the 16th, the UN deputy from North Korea, Kim Myong Kil, strongly denied the allogations stating, “These are groundless stories and I have nothing else to say.”

Experts predict that as long as the Bush administration decides on a course of action to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue through diplomatic efforts before the end of the term, the U.S. policy toward North Korea is not likely to change, so long as “real evidence” does not increase.

One South Korean expert on North Korea said, “It is proposed that North Korea is selling nuclear materials to Syria, but this has not been confirmed yet. The U.S.’ fundamental position is that it will never allow the proliferation of nuclear weapons, so the issue can be urgently addressed at the Six Party Talks. However, this is not a situation that will turn the progressive atmosphere between the US and North Korea upside down.”

“As long as definitive information or real evidence is not brought forward, the U.S., through the Six Party Talks, will continue its efforts to carry out the roadmap for the abandonment of North Korean nuclear ambitions.” he said. “The pivotal issue is to what extent North Korea will faithfully report extracted plutonium or the uranium enrichment programs (UEP).”