U.N. Official Sees a 'Wal-Mart' in Nuclear Trafficking

MARK LANDLER / NY Times 23jan04

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 23 — The head of the United Nations' watchdog agency on atomic weapons said today that the global black market of nuclear-related material and equipment had grown to the point that it amounted to "a Wal-Mart" for weapons-seeking countries.

Mohamed M. ElBaradei, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said he was taken aback during a recent trip to Libya by the scale and complexity of the illicit trafficking through which it obtained material and blueprints for nuclear weapons designs.

Mohamed M. ElBaradei

"All of that was obtained abroad," he said in an interview during the World Economic Forum meeting here. "All of what we saw was a result of the Wal-Mart of private-sector proliferation."

"When you see things being designed in one country, manufactured in two or three others, shipped to a fourth, redirected to a fifth, that means there's lots of offices all over the world," Dr. ElBaradei said. "The sophistication of the process, frankly, has surpassed my expectations."

The Libyan leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, invited Dr. ElBaradei and his inspectors to the country last month after pledging to dismantle his unconventional weapons programs. Dr. ElBaradei said he was quite satisfied with the level of cooperation shown by the Libyans.

"They are taking us everywhere we want to go," he said. "They are answering all our questions, they are showing us all of what they have. That doesn't mean that we still do not have to do verification."

Dr. ElBaradei's confidence, however, was leavened by his acknowledgment that neither the atomic energy agency nor the intelligence branches of the big countries have a grip on the extent of nuclear trafficking.a

"The system is under a good deal of stress," he said. "We need to take this seriously."

For many experts who have gathered in Davos, nuclear proliferation is looming as the next big security threat. Much of the focus has centered on the suspected trail of nuclear material and know-how from countries like Pakistan and North Korea to striving nuclear powers like Iran and Libya.

Pakistan recently questioned Abdul Qadeer Khan, who is widely regarded as the pioneer of that nation's atomic bomb, and several of his colleagues, following an investigation by the atomic energy agency into possible links between the Pakistani and Iranian nuclear programs.

"Pakistan's cooperation is key for us to understand the dimension of the problem," Dr. ElBaradei said. "I have no reason to believe the government was involved, but I hope to have a clear picture in a few weeks."

Iran's president, Mohammad Khatami, on Wednesday rejected suggestions of nuclear technology transfers between his country and North Korea. He reiterated Iran's contention that its nuclear program is peaceful.

Dr. ElBaradei expressed a guarded view of Iran, saying it had aroused concern by appearing to backslide on its earlier commitment to suspend its enrichment of uranium. Enriched uranium is a prime ingredient of a nuclear bomb, though it can also be used to fuel nuclear reactors.

"They keep saying, `We might continue to produce centrifuges,' " Dr. ElBaradei said, referring to the machines that process uranium. "This is, of course, not sitting well with the Europeans or others."

Dr. ElBaradei said he would meet in Davos on Saturday with the Iranian foreign minister, Kamal Kharrazi, and said he would encourage the Iranians to agree to a blanket suspension of their activities.

Of all the crises facing his agency, Dr. ElBaradei said he was most alarmed by North Korea, which expelled the agency's inspectors and pulled out of the nuclear nonproliferation agreement.

"North Korea has the most advanced capability, in terms of having the plutonium needed to produce a weapon," he said. "It's also the country that is the most beleaguered. If you put this insecurity and the capability together, it makes you feel very concerned about North Korea."

Dr. ElBaradei said the North Korean government might be willing to make a deal with the United States because of its dire economic straits. But he said that because Pyongyang has little leverage aside from the fear that it may already possess a bomb, it would negotiate hard for security guarantees.

Still, Dr. ElBaradei urged the United States to seize the initiative rather than play a waiting game, as has been the case for the last several months. "We need to stop maneuvering about who is going to take the first step," he said. "We all know what it takes to find a solution."

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