UN report says North Korea aided Syrian chemical weapons projects

A leaked report from the UN sanctions panel says North Korea sent Syria missile specialists and over 40 items used in ballistic missile and chemical weapons programmes between 2012 and 2017.

The report, which also stated that North Korean missile specialists had been seen at Syrian weapons facilities, follows fresh allegations that Syrian government forces have used chlorine as a weapon, an accusation which Damascus denies.

A spokesperson for the Syrian government said: "There are no [North Korean] technical companies in Syria and the only presence of some [North Korean] individuals are confined in the field of sports under private individual contracts for training athletics and gymnastics."

Materials allegedly supplied by Pyongyang included acid resistant tiles, valves and pipes which could be utilised in the construction of a chemical plant.

In over 200 pages, the leaked report detailed dealings between the two countries dating back to 2008, when a North Korean corporation named Ryonhap-2 became involved in a Syrian ballistic missile programme, according to an unnamed member state.

Another unnamed member state mentioned in the same report gave evidence that North Korea had supplied a range of conventional weaponry, such as rocket launchers, surface-to-air missiles and ballistic missile systems, to Myanmar.

Stéphane Dujarric, a UN spokesman, said: "I think the overarching message is that all member states have a duty and responsibility to abide by the sanctions that are in place."

Despite current international sanctions over its nuclear programme, according to the same report North Korea had attempted to establish illicit trade links with other countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Latin America.