BEIJING, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- A U.S. defense official Monday urged North Korea to follow Libya's example in allowing foreign inspectors to inspect its weapons of mass destruction.
John Bolton, U.S. undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, made his comment a week before six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons arsenal, the Kyodo news agency reported.
Bolton said North Korea was holding back too much information.
He said Libya has allowed U.S. and British inspectors to look at its arms and to help dismantle the weapons, while it has also named its arms suppliers.
And that, in turn, prompted Pakistan's top nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan to reveal he had sold nuclear technology to Iran and North Korea as well.
Bolton said without inspections, "it's hard to see how you could get a complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement.
"If you want to get there, the answer is in Tripoli. This issue really is whether North Korea is prepared to make the commitment. I think the example that Libya has provided, it's there for Korea to see, there for Iran to see, there for others to see."
