North Korea's uranium enrichment program "appears to be much more advanced and efficient than the Iranian program, which is running into problems," according to the White House coordinator for weapons of mass destruction Gary Samore. He was quoted as making the comment by the New York Times on Tuesday.
Iran has been "experimenting with advanced centrifuges," but has failed to "install them on an industrial scale, despite years of efforts," due to international sanctions. The North, however, has dodged economic sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council and the U.S., the daily reported.
"The new North Korean centrifuges could be attractive to other nations," it added, and quoted Samore as saying U.S. strategy should "ensure that the North Koreans don't sell to the Middle East."
"According to secret State Department cables made public by WikiLeaks, the United States believes that North Korea successfully shipped 19 advanced missiles to Iran five years ago," it said.
Meanwhile, U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley commented on recent media reports that the North has three to four more undisclosed uranium enrichment facilities besides the Yongbyon complex. "We're very conscious of the fact that in the recent revelations to American delegations, what they saw did not come out of thin air. It certainly reflects work being done at least one other site, so this remains a significant area of concern."
