The nuclear black market that supplied Iran, Libya and North Korea is small, tight-knit and appears to have been badly hurt by the exposure of its reputed head, the father of Pakistan’s nuclear program, diplomats and weapons experts told The Associated Press. They describe the network that circumvented international controls to sell blueprints, hardware and know-how to countries running covert nuclear programs as involving people closely dependent on one another. Abdul Qadeer Khan, who founded Pakistan’s nuclear program, is emerging as the head of the ring believed to have been the main supplier through middlemen over three continents. A Pakistani government official revealed Monday that Khan has acknowledged in a written statement transferring nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea. The sales, during the late 1980s and in the early and mid-1990s, were motivated by “personal greed and ambition,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official added that the black market dealings were not authorized by the Pakistani government. Full Story
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