TOKYO, April 6 (UPI) -- North Korea may have used Japanese technology to help launch a rocket this week, Japanese authorities said.
The Yomiuri Shimbun reported Monday that investigations by police and international organizations suggest that North Korea used Japanese instruments and technology to blast its rocket.
Since the export of instruments that can be used to develop missiles requires government permission, it's believed that Pyongyang obtained the Japanese materials through an intermediary.
The newspaper noted that in 2003, an engineer who had defected from North Korea told U.S. senators that about 90 percent of the parts used for one type of North Korean missile originated in Japan.
North Korea made its Taepodong-2 test launch Sunday amid objections from the United States and its allies, including Japan.
