A video taken inside the Syrian facility bombarded by Israel
last September persuaded the US administration that North Korea was helping Syria
construct a nuclear reactor, the Washington Post reported Thursday.
According to the Post the video, which shows North Koreans inside the site codenamed al-Kibar, "played a pivotal role" in Israel's decision to bomb the facility. The tape will be presented to the House and Senate intelligence, armed services and foreign relations committees on Thursday.
Senior US officials said that the tape also indicates that the site's design is identical to the North Korean nuclear reactor in Yongbyon. It shows "remarkable resemblances inside and out to Yongbyon," an intelligence official told the Post.
The tape confirms reports published days after the strike that Israel based its attack on photos of the Syrian facility. However, those reports referred mainly to the possibility of footage taken from the air.
Meanwhile, Syrian Ambassador Imad Moustapha compared the Israeli and US assertions regarding the site to the US' claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction before the invasion to the country in 2003. "I hope the American people will not be as gullible this time around," the Post quoted Moustapha as saying.
Roni Sofer contributed to the report
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