Pakistan-N.

Korea Military Cooperation Over, says Musharraf

Michael Kitchen
Islamabad
07 Nov 2003, 15:13 UTC

Pakistan's president says his country no longer maintains military cooperation with
North Korea and has never helped Pyongyang in its quest for nuclear weapons.

President Pervez Musharraf says Pakistan had previously obtained some help from
the North Koreans in developing short-range missiles.

Speaking Friday at the end of a visit to South Korea, he said, however, that defense
cooperation with North Korea has since been cut and there are no plans to resume
AP such ties in the future.
President
Pervez
Musharraf He said Pakistan's missile program is now completely indigenous.
File photo
President Musharraf says cooperation with the North Koreans never included the
transfer of Pakistani nuclear know-how.

"There has been no transfer of technology, no proliferation whatsoever, leave aside North Korea,
with any other country of the world," he said.

Previously, media reports alleged Pakistan aided North Korea in obtaining uranium-enrichment
technology, used for building nuclear bombs.

Both India and Pakistan declared themselves nuclear powers in May 1998 by publicly testing their
weapons.

Mr. Musharraf said that a balance of forces is needed to keep peace between Pakistan and India, and
is why Islamabad began to develop nuclear weapons after India made its first nuclear test three
decades ago.

The president on Friday ended a three-day visit to South Korea aimed at building better ties with
Seoul.