A U.S. ally and key oil supplier, Nigeria announced this
week it could soon sign an agreement with North Korea, which
the United States considers the world's largest exporter of
ballistic missiles.
"We expressed concerns about the possibility there might be
a purchase of missiles from North Korea and that's an issue we
will be discussing with them," State Department spokesman
Richard Boucher told reporters, referring to talks with the
Nigerian government.
U.S. officials doubted Nigeria, which faces no obvious
military threat, would go ahead with a deal but said the
government had so far failed to assure American diplomats it
would reject the communist nation's offer.
They said the U.S. arsenal of tools to stop such deals
include seizing arms in transit or imposing sanctions on
nations buying from a country that President Bush (news - web sites) has labeled
part of an "axis of evil" with Iran and pre-war Iraq (news - web sites).
"We don't think the Nigerians are really going to do
anything," said one State Department official, who asked not to
be named. "But, as long as there is any gray, we will say
publicly we strongly oppose any proliferation. And with any
parties engaged in such proliferation we would look at using
those legal means, including interdictions and sanctions."
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks showed how vulnerable the
country was, Washington has sought to clamp down on the trade
of missiles and weapons of mass destruction to prevent militant
groups from acquiring such arms.
The United States has intervened in recent North Korean
missile deliveries to Yemen.
Nigeria, which has bought arms from the United States,
Britain and Russia, says its weapons are needed for security
and peacekeeping. Africa's most populous nation, Nigeria sees
itself as a regional superpower and currently has troops in
war-torn Liberia (news - web sites).
The government of President Olusegun Obasanjo is a key
Washington ally in Africa, and is the fifth-largest supplier of
oil to the United States. But Nigeria has also been reaching
out to Asia in an effort to attract investment and alliances.
Missile sales are a major source of revenue for
cash-strapped North Korea, which is expected to resume talks
soon with Washington and other nations on dismantling its
suspected nuclear programs.
Nigerian officials ruled out any nuclear-related purchases.
