Japan-made pumps used at NKorea nuclear plants: reports

NUKEWARS

NKorea reports 'fruitful' nuclear talks with US official
North Korea said Thursday it held "fruitful" talks with a visiting US State Department official about the scrapping of its nuclear programme. Sung Kim, head of the department's Korea section, visited Pyongyang on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss ongoing work to disable the North's plutonium-producing atomic plants. "The negotiations proceeded fruitfully," a foreign ministry spokesman told the North's official Korean Central News Agency. The spokesman said the two sides held talks on disablement work and on "completing the provision of political and economic rewards" for denuclearisation.

by Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) June 12, 2008
UN inspectors have discovered that equipment made in Japan, the arch-enemy of North Korea, has been used for uranium enrichment in the communist state, news reports said Thursday.

Police raided two private companies earlier this month after receiving the information from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), public broadcaster NHK and other Japanese media reported.

Police declined to comment on the reports, but one of the companies stepped forward to deny any wrongdoing.

Tokyo Vacuum, based in Kanagawa prefecture near the capital, and Tokyo-based trade agency Nakano Corp. are suspected of exporting vacuum pumps without permission to Taiwan, violating Japan's trade control law, the reports said.

Inspectors believe that the vacuum pumps, which can be used to separate uranium, were then sent to North Korea, which tested an atom bomb in 2006.

Nakano Corp. president Hiroshi Nakano told reporters that the company had received an order from Taiwan for the product and "simply responded."

"I had no idea the Taiwanese maker had that kind of relationship" with North Korea, he said. "If I had known about it, I would not have exported it."

Tokyo Vacuum was not immediately available for comment.

IAEA inspectors discovered the vacuum pumps when probing North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear complex and other nuclear-related facilities last July, media said.

The inspection took place to verify the shutting down and sealing of the nuclear facilities as it was agreed under the six-party disarmament deal on Pyongyang's nuclear programme.

Nakano Corp. shipped 10 vacuum pumps, which also have civilian uses, to a trading company in Taipei for a total of 500,000 yen (4,700 dollars) in summer 2003, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported.

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ...

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

NUKEWARS

Atomic Market: What Benazir knew

Washington (UPI) May 30, 2008
A new book confirms what has to be one of the more unusual exchanges of nuclear information outside of outright spying and helps explain how Pakistani nuclear weapons knowledge made its way to North Korea.

ROCKET SCIENCE Orion's New Launch Abort Motor Test Stand Ready For Action Researchers To Upgrade Safety And Performance Of Rocket Fuel NASA chief backs proposal for European spaceship SpaceX And NASA To Improve Mission Critical Software Systems	LAUNCH PAD Ariane 5 Lofts Twin Birds For European Defense And Turkish TV OSTM-Jason 2 Satellite Ready For June 20 Launch From California Ariane 5 Is Poised For Liftoff With Skynet 5C And Turksat 3A Orbital Sciences To Operate Taurus II From Wallops
SHUTTLE NEWS Space shuttle blastoff damaged launch pad: NASA Foam chunks in Discovery launch no problem: NASA official Shuttle delivers Japanese lab to space station Japan astronaut's fans celebrate shuttle launch	STATION NEWS Shuttle astronauts bid farewell to space station crew Discovery undocks from ISS Shuttle Astronauts Bid Farewell To Space Station Crew Russia Eyeing New Launch Services Deal With US
SPACE TRAVEL NASA Completes Review Milestone For Ares I First Stage Medical Research On Ice University Of Florida Professor Designs Plasma-Propelled Flying Saucer Northwestern Testing Transistors For Radiation Resistance On Space Station	DRAGON SPACE Two Suits For Shenzhou China manned space flight set for October: state media Suits For Shenzhou China Launches New Space Tracking Ship To Serve Shenzhou VII
ROBO SPACE Energy ministers get 'buddy' humanoids TU Delft Robot Flame Walks Like A Human A Biomimetic Jumping Microrobot Robot conducts Detroit orchestra	MARSDAILY NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander Delivers Soil Sample To Microscope After whole lotta shakin', Mars probe ready to bake Technology Enrolled In Hunt For Life On Mars Phoenix Lander Has An Oven Full Of Martian Soil

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement