WASHINGTON —

North Korea helped Syria’s covert nuclear activities and the reactor that Israel bombed last September was meant for military purposes, the White House said Thursday.

‘‘We are convinced, based on a variety of information, that North Korea assisted Syria’s covert nuclear activities,’’ White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said in a statement. ‘‘We have good reason to believe that reactor, which was damaged beyond repair on Sept 6 of last year, was not intended for peaceful purposes.’’

Perino denounced North Korea’s aid as “a dangerous manifestation” of its nuclear and proliferation activities, but signaled that Washington was sticking with six-country diplomacy aimed at ending those programs.

“We will work with our partners to establish in the Six Party Framework a rigorous verification mechanism to ensure that such conduct and other nuclear activities have ceased,” she said.

Her comments ended a stubborn U.S. silence about the Israeli raid, widely thought at the time to have struck a Syrian nuclear site. She did not, however, mention the U.S. ally by name in her statement.

The statement, which lacked details of the evidence for the U.S. allegations, came after the White House and the CIA briefed key lawmakers on the partnership between two countries that have been frequent U.S. foes on a range of issues.

“Until Sept 6, 2007, the Syrian regime was building a covert nuclear reactor in its eastern desert capable of producing plutonium. We are convinced, based on a variety of information, that North Korea assisted Syria’s covert nuclear activities,” she said.

“The Syrian regime must come clean before the world regarding its illicit nuclear activities,” said Perino, who underscored that Washington had shared its information with the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency.

“In defiance of its international obligations, Syria did not inform the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the construction of the reactor, and, after it was destroyed, the regime moved quickly to bury evidence of its existence,” she said.

“This cover-up only served to reinforce our confidence that this reactor was not intended for peaceful activities,” said Perino, who warned that the revelations highlighted the need to confront Iran over its atomic ambitions.

“This underscores that the international community is right to be very concerned about the nuclear activities of Iran and the risks those activities pose to the stability of the Middle East,” she said.

“To confront this challenge, the international community must take further steps, beginning with the full implementation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions dealing with Iranian nuclear activities,” she said.

In Congress, top U.S. officials laid out the charges—which Syria flatly denied—behind closed doors in a video presentation that includes photographs of the facility, a top U.S. official said on condition of anonymity.

Syria has denounced the charges, with its ambassador to the United States pointedly linking the supposed U.S. evidence to Washington’s weapons-of-mass-destruction case for invading Iraq.

The diplomat, Imad Moustapha, later said on CNN that he had been called into the State Department Thursday, where officials “told me a ridiculous story about an alleged Syria nuclear project.”

Wire reports

Latest 15 of 19 Total Comments Show All

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  smithinjapan at 09:10 PM JST - 25th April

  'US intelligence' is an oxymoron. Lest we forget, they had 'intangible evidence' that Saddam had WMDs that could strike the continental US upon 45 minutes notice!

  Okay, fine, so if you've got such hard evidence, go on in and wipe them out! No doubt you'll be welcomed with rose petals and will mow the enemies down in a few days..... oh wait, you can't even fight the enemy in a weak nation that can't fight back! Imagine if you invaded countries that could!! Nah... suddenly bush and co. feel the need to, ahem, try to be 'dimplomatic' when it comes to nations that would wipe the floor with the US (much like is being done in Iraq..... although you never know, 4+ years after being promised rose pedals as a freedumb present, a soldier might get one thrown at him or her).

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  Madverts at 09:16 PM JST - 25th April

  It's a shame americanwoman is no longer with us. At least we could have heard her conspiracy theory's about how Saddam's "WMD" were secretly flown into Syria on the eve of the invasion on no other than bin-Laden's magic carpet.

  It's pretty sad for Americans that the rest of the world when asked to take the word of either the US government, or a terror supporting dictator, doesn't know which to choose from.

  Bush Co's dishonest legacy will take years to shift.

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  SuperLib at 09:27 PM JST - 25th April

  Okay, fine, so if you've got such hard evidence, go on in and wipe them out!

  The site's already been wiped out.

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  Hikozaemon at 09:33 PM JST - 25th April

  What bugs me about the invasion of Iraq is not the invasion itself - I can see plenty of merits for the regime change there. And it is not the waste of American lives implementing that policy - the US people voted for Bush to make those decisions as to where to sacrifice Americans, and the US people voted again to endorse his spending of US military lives in Iraq when they reelected him, as is their right.

  My problem is the statement of principle angle. Bush advisors have not hidden the fact that the plan to invade Iraq went into action the day of the 9-11 attacks. The WMD justification was used no doubt due to a confidence that that was one of many things that the Iraqis were doing, and more importantly because it provided the most robust justification for military action under international law.

  And if the US wants to enforce international law, then great.

  Problem is that, as Tony Blair himself pointed out to Bush, if WMD was going to be the great justification, there were far more certain, and just as nasty violators out there. North Korea was openly violating its NPT inspection oblgiations and years later tested a bomb. Iran soon started doing the same thing.

  The problem is not that US intelligence on Iran, Syria or North Korea is faulty. The problem is that because Bush chose not to be open about his own motivations for sending young Americans to "get Saddam" - which probably extended not very far beyond wanting to do the Saudis a favor and getting payback for the assassination attempt on his father, he set a moral standard that the US, by not taking action in much higher priority cases going on at the same time, was never going to be able to meet, and after Iraq, would never be able to make up for with any credibility.

  We are in this mess because Bush didn't care what justification he used to go after Saddam - he picked a good looking excuse from a hat, sent Americans to die, and because of the results of that carelesness, North Korea has a bomb, Iran will soon have a bomb, and the US is and will remain in no position to do anything more about this situation than complain. And that will be the legacy of his presidency.

  Peace

• 

  SuperLib at 09:44 PM JST - 25th April

  From what I've been reading the US is deciding to present this information to Congress now because it's being brought up in the talks with North Korea, and the negotiators didn't want to be in the position of showing North Korea evidence that key members (whatever that means) of Congress hadn't seen themselves. North Korea's comments and actions over the next few days will probably give us a good indication of where this will take us in the future, but since Israel has already taken the facility out I'm guessing it won't amount to much of anything. The negotiations with North Korea will move forward (hopefully) and to borrow a line from smith, the Syrians will just have to settle for Israel wiping them floor with them once again.

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  adaydream at 10:25 PM JST - 25th April

  It pretty amazing that when the intellegence community decided to inform the congress, they just had to release the information to the world.

  Then you see those pictures from the site there in Syria. Who was the spy who took the pics? This may have compromised an intellegence spy.

  After 8 months of silence, then the revelation. Strange.

• 

  SuperLib at 02:50 AM JST - 26th April

  You can see a video of some of the evidence here:

  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7366658.stm

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  redacted at 03:20 AM JST - 26th April

  Hikozaemon:"My problem is the statement of principle angle. Bush advisors have not hidden the fact that the plan to invade Iraq went into action the day of the 9-11 attacks. "

  Wrong.

  Bush stately quite clearly in debates preceding the 2000 election that he wanted regime change in Iraq.

  It is a matter of public record.

  The Lefty media (and obviously not just in the States...) like to pride themselves on their vigilance and foresight.

  But they failed.

  As they have also failed in properly "vetting" the Democrat candidates.

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  GeorgeRouault at 03:21 AM JST - 26th April

  More BS US propaganda. The highly reliable US intelligence with an another scoop. The United States saw fit to send more than a dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles screaming into a pharmacy plant. Then invaded Iraq to find WMD and does anyone remember bin Laden? Now the highly respected US intelligence and their leaders want us to believe that if Iran gets nukes they want to anhilate Israel ignorig that Iran has not even invaded anyone in many centuries not to mention US is the only country in the world to have dropped nukes on civilians.

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  SuperLib at 03:54 AM JST - 26th April

  What do you think about the evidence, daydream?

  pulling the string

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  adaydream at 04:01 AM JST - 26th April

  I'm really not sure about it.

  I know how easily this administration has fabricated evidence.

  I'm never sure if stupidity or a real plan guides the administration.

  Why would you want to publicly release it, and give away positive proof there was a spy of ours right there?

  Why wait 8 months to release it?

  I haven't decided yet about it.

  But it's not all cut and dry like Washington wants you to believe.

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  GeorgeRouault at 04:33 AM JST - 26th April

  USA has lied about everything. They have been wrong about everything. Maybe this is the plan as coorporate interests go before national interests. Weapon manufacturers, oil companies, contactors , international bankers make profit so it is in their interests to keep this war going.

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  SuperLib at 01:48 PM JST - 26th April

  daydream, the information was released because it's going to be shown to the North Koreans. The photos of the facility are satellite images, not taken by some undercover spy.

  I'm not asking you to believe anything and everything the US says. I'm asking you to not disbelieve anything and everything the US says, which is just as unreasonable as the first sentence. Look at the information as it comes and use it to make your own decision. Soon Syria and North Korea will comment and you can add their information to the mix. Don't close your mind to receiving new data because you don't like one of the parties involved. Look at George's comments...they have nothing at all to do with anything specifically related to this case. It's a 100% closed mind. Do you really want to go down that road?

• 

  Bgood41 at 12:10 PM JST - 28th April

  I agree that Iraq war has not been well executed, however it is time to find better solution for the entire area; especially among the Muslim world (read Koran for you will know why?). And it is going to be a long process. No quick fix guys, otherwise enjoying your lala land while you can. Kim Jung Ill's regime and Syrian's Assad regime would do anything for their own survival and glory even at the cost of their own people. Most N.Koreans are starving while the dear leader sipping champagne. These peoples assume that everybody else are worthless, except themselves. Keep on spinning. If N.Korea and Syria try it again, you will see a better show next time from the Israel. By the way, do not forget to send mother day's roses to your friends in Iran, the Hamas and may be the Taliban...as well.

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  Hikozaemon at 05:52 PM JST - 28th April

  redacted - I don't see that I've been contradicted. I said that the plan they had "went into action" the day of the attacks. That Bush had an anti-Iraq agenda was clear before that, but remember that in 2000 he campaigned on a "more humble" foreign policy than the more interventionist approach of Clinton. His "humble" foreign policy was a major plank of his campaign and election. The 911 attacks "changed the reality" that the US was safe from terrorist attack and this was the justification for the need to combate rogue states that support terrorism, as it as put.

  Bush gave no kind of indication that he was planning a ten year 150,000 troop commitment to a war in Iraq in 2000, even though he made his dislike of Saddam and desire to undermine his regime clear.

  The actual plan to do this invasion and nationwide occupation when into effect on the day of the attacks. Bush and his closest advisors backed this up in the book "Plan of Attack".

  The irony of this whole unveiling is that the Israelis demonstrated in Syria EXACTLY what the US should have done in DPRK under Clinton, and then again under Bush. The Syrian reactor was meant to be a near replica of Yongbong - but the Americans were too scared to do anything about it. And now we are dealing with a nuclear North Korea as a result.

  I don't know the point of raising this in negotiations either - the North Koreans will simply use this as more fuel for their blusterous "we are a nuclear power so respect us" campaign.

  Thank heavens that at least the Israelis have the guts to do what is necessary to stop nations like these getting the bomb - done in a single day, no (important) casualties, a complete success. What in hell was the US doing going into occupy an already crippled and powerless Iraq when North Korea and Iran are making nukes to give them geopolitical leverage that not even the US can rebalance once they are armed?

  This single minded incompetence by Bush will be responsible for the next 30 years of conflict in the Gulf (and by extension Lebanon) and in North East Asia. He has sustained Kim Jong Il's rule over North Korea, and meanwhile in a cave in western Afghanistan, somebody is still making home movies....

  Even if you classify Iraq as a victory, surely for everything else sacrificed to achieve that goal, it has to be judged to be at best a Phyrric one?

  Peace

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