The Afghan Taliban, or the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is embroiled in an international controversy after reports emerged that an official group of eight Taliban members secretly visited North Korea to discuss nuclear weapons technology cooperation.
Afghanistan is a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and has had a nuclear energy program that the Taliban now controls. There have been reports that Taliban officials are seeking access to tactical nuclear weapons and that several Western intelligence agencies launched investigations into the Taliban’s connections to North Korea after the news broke.
Despite the allegations, the Taliban officials have remained tight-lipped and have neither confirmed nor denied the reports. However, a Twitter account purportedly linked to the group indicated that they had no concerns about the controversy and openly taunted the international community. Afghanistan is surrounded by four nuclear-armed states, all of which are friends of the Taliban. The region is known for nuclear proliferation, with Pakistan’s Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan admitting to sharing nuclear technology with Iran, Libya, and North Korea for over a decade.
January 2024
Source: Memri.org,