Paul Richter,
Washington January 18, 2008 
WESTERN governments have concluded that Syria and North Korea were collaborating on a nuclear weapons program at a mysterious site in the Syrian desert bombed by Israel last year, a senior European diplomat said in a rare comment about it by a high-ranking official.
The diplomat said that after a review of available intelligence, Western governments had reached "some sort of common ground … that there seems to have been co-operation between Syria and North Korea" at the site. The remarks were made on condition of anonymity.
Since the Israeli bombing in September last year, US and allied officials have said little about the attack, the site or the possible existence of a Syrian nuclear weapons program, which could further destabilise the turbulent region.
The European official's remarks represented an acknowledgment of the attack and the conclusion of Western governments that the site was a nuclear installation. Before this, leading Americans, Israelis and Western allies had avoided either issue.
An international consensus that North Korea and Syria have collaborated on nuclear weapons would mark a new setback to US efforts to entice North Korea to scrap its nuclear armament program.
It also could blunt efforts to pursue engagement with Syria, following apparent US overtures before last November's Middle East peace conference in the US.
Yet, some observers have remained sceptical that the Syrian structure was part of any nuclear program. Mohamed ElBaradei, secretary-general of the UN watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has said that on the basis of satellite photos, agency experts believe it unlikely the site housed a nuclear reactor.
Mr ElBaradei's comments came in a January 8 interview with the Arabic newspaper Al Hayat.
Syrian officials have said repeatedly that the building was not a nuclear installation but an empty military structure. Israeli officials have acknowledged the attack in vague terms, but have provided no detailed information about the site.
US allies acknowledge that the evidence of weapons activity could be stronger. The European diplomat said that the available intelligence data were "not as much as we would love to have about that". He also said it was not clear how far advanced the Syrian effort was, or what the Syrian Government is doing now at the site.
There have been some signs of rebuilding at the site, on the banks of the Euphrates in eastern Syria. Recent satellite photos by a private Colorado company, DigitalGlobe, show a new building on part of the site, based on photos kept on the company's website.
But private analysts said it is unlikely the Syrians would try to duplicate facilities destroyed in the Israeli attack.
The European diplomat said it was "possible" that the structure that seems to be under construction was being built simply to conceal the nature of past activities.
David Schenker, a former Pentagon specialist on Syria now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said a general agreement among Western governments that North Korea and Syria collaborated at a nuclear site would be "a pretty significant development".
There has been wide agreement that North Korea has helped Syria over the years on its arms program.
It helped Syria build Scud missiles, the crude, short-range weapons used in the Persian Gulf War, and more advanced designs, Mr Schenker noted.
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LOS ANGELES TIMES _ January 18, 2008
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