By Kim Young Deok and Lee Jihae

A lawmaker on July 14 said an article published on March 21, 2009, by the Japanese daily Sankei Shimbun shows that Japan was serving as a base for the illicit trade of materials for the nuclear development of North Korea and pro-North countries.

Rep. Ha Tae-keung of the minor opposition Bareun Mirae Party, who is also a member of the parliamentary defense committee, cited in a news conference the article headlined "Soundless Threats Approaching of Nuclear Weapons Made in Japan" as a response to Japanese media allegations that South Korea shipped strategic materials imported from Japan to the North and its allies. He said the daily knew Japan aided the North's nuclear development.

The article quoted a Japanese police source as saying North Korea and Pakistan acquired from Japanese corporations devices such as special magnets and electronic microscopes for nuclear development. 

"The Japanese government can provide no specific evidence that South Korea was involved in the illegal export of strategic materials to North Korea," Ha said, urging Japan's immediate withdrawal of its export restrictions on South Korea.

To justify its export curbs, the Japanese government has accused the South of violating United Nations (U.N.) sanctions on the North. In response, Seoul on July 12 proposed an international probe conducted with the U.N. Security Council and other relevant global organizations into Tokyo's accusations.

kyd1991@korea.kr