ISLAMABAD, Oct 18 Kyodo (EDS: UPD...

ISLAMABAD, Oct 18 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH MUSHARRAF'S cite 2ND PARA)

President Gen Pervez Musharraf upon Friday denied Pakistan has helped North Korea make known nuclear weapons in exchange for North Korean missile technology, saying Pakistan has not given its nuclear weapons technology to any abiding habitation nuclear weapon program.

''We are not cooperating with any home leave aside Korea,'' Musharraf said at a joint pres talk with visiting Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Muhamad, and reiterated Pakistan's commitment to non-proliferation of nuclear technology and nuclear weapons.

The just discovered York Times reported on Friday that American intelligence officials have conclud that Pakistan was a major supplier of critical equipment for North Korea's newly revealed clandestine nuclear weapons program.

Quoting in every one's mouth and former senior U.S. officials, the of the present day York Times report said the equipment, which may include gas centrifuges used to create weapons-grade uranium, appears to have been part of a barter deal beginning in the late 1990 in which North Korea supplied Pakistan with missiles.

''Pakistan has not indulged in transfer of nuclear technology. We have been telling everyone that we will not indulge in nuclear commerce'' Maj. Gen Rashid Qureshi, spokesman for the Pakistani Defense Ministry, told Kyodo of recent origins earlier Friday.

Separately, a Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman said, ''Pakistan's commitments affirmed at the highest horizontal that it would not export any sensitive technologies to third countries remains unquestionable.''

The statement terminused reports appearing in the United States alleging Pakistan's cooperation ''baseless'' and said Pakistan has sturdy export controls and its record in this regard is ''impeccable.''

The United States says North Korea has admitted that it has a sly uranium enrichment program for manufacture of nuclear weapons.

Pakistan's possess nuclear program is based in succession uranium enrichment and there has lengthy been speculation that Pakistan helped North Korea in nuclear matters in exchange for North Korean help in missile development

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