...its funny the west puts sanctions on a country
then when its poeple start to starve it says "look its the govts doing" perfect example? Iraq oil for food program
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/15745399.htm
North Korean client list is said to take in Iran, Syria, 16 others
Here's what really scares the world about Pyongyang's nuclear test
By Katherine Shrader
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - North Korea's claimed test of a nuclear weapon is only the tip of what frightens the rest of the world. The country has shown itself to be a virtual bazaar for spreading missiles, conventional weapons, and nuclear technology around the globe.
Pyongyang has sold its military goods to at least 18 countries, mostly in Africa and the Middle East, according to U.S. officials and outside experts. That is a good indication, officials warn, that North Korea might sell nuclear weapons if doing so would bring hard currency into the impoverished communist state.
North Korea's catalog has included ballistic missiles and related components, conventional weapons such as mobile rocket launchers, and nuclear technology. It is also possible, the officials say, that Pyongyang has sold components that could be part of biological or chemical munitions.
The U.S. officials and others interviewed this week about North Korea's weapons trade spoke on the condition that they not be identified, given the tense situation between the two countries.
On Wednesday, the United States circulated a draft resolution at the United Nations that condemns North Korea's proclaimed nuclear test on Monday as in "flagrant disregard" of U.N resolutions and "a clear threat to international peace and security."
The resolution calls for a ban on all North Korean arms sales and travel by people involved in North Korea's weapons program. It also would require countries to freeze all assets related to North Korea's weapons and missile programs.
In admonishing North Korea for its purported nuclear test, President Bush called Pyongyang "one of the world's leading proliferators of missile technology, including transfers to Iran and Syria."
North Korea's customer list, going back to the mid-1980s, goes beyond those two countries. U.S. officials and outside experts report sales of missiles or related components to Egypt, Pakistan, Libya, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Pyongyang is also believed to have engaged in deals for cruise missiles and other wares with most of those countries and Angola, Burma, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iraq, Rwanda, Sudan, Uganda, Vietnam, Zaire and Zimbabwe.
North Korea is also believed to have shared its nuclear technology. Government officials have said publicly that A.Q. Khan - the Pakistani scientist who confessed in 2004 to running an illegal nuclear market - had close connections with North Korea, trading in equipment, facilitating international deals for components, and swapping nuclear know-how.
Also of concern is that North Korea sells its weaponry to unstable or undemocratic states that may not have adequate control over their arsenals. That includes Iran and Syria, said Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Mich.), chairman of the House intelligence policy subcommittee that recently issued a Republican-drafted report on the North Korean threat.
In another case, "Yemen is trying to help [the United States], and they have made some public efforts - at least in P.R. efforts - when it comes to helping us on terrorism," Rogers said. "But Yemen has a troubled history."
Rogers' report, which was reviewed by the U.S. intelligence community, says North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il has a personal fortune estimated at $4 billion, "at least partially amassed through drug and missile sales and counterfeiting."
The United States leads the world in arms sales to developing nations. While North Korea is believed to make hundreds of millions of dollars annually from weapons sales, that may be shrinking, in part because of international pressure to avoid the unpredictable government.
Sounds like Jong is living 'la vida loca' while his people starve.
