U.N. ties N. Korea to Syrian chemical weapons

North Korea appears to have stepped up its covert assistance to a Syrian government agency responsible for producing that country’s chemical weapons and advanced missiles, a U.N. panel has concluded ina confidential report.

The technical aid from Pyongyang, which began over 10 years ago, included three visits by North Korean weapons experts in 2016, as well as 40 previously unknown shipments of specialized materials and equipment used in building chemical manufacturing plants, according toa draft of the report.

The evidence of a North Korean connection comes as the United States and other countries have accused the Syrian government of using chemical weapons on civilians, including recent attacks on civilians in the Damascus suburb of eastern Ghouta using what appears to have been chlorine gas.

The U.N.’s revelations underscore widely held concerns about North Korea’s willingness to market its most advanced weapons technology to foreign clients — including, in this instance, to a Syrian regime notorious for using chemical weapons to kill its citizens. Multiple U.N. investigations have linked President Bashar Assad’s forces to mass-casualty attacks on Syrian civilians using sarin, a banned chemical toxin.

North Korea’s alleged aid to Syria is detailed in a 70-page report, which has not been publicly released yet, compiled by the U.N. Panel of Experts, a technical body that releases periodical assessments about compliance with U.N. resolutions, including trade sanctions imposed on Pyongyang.

The disclosures come amid revelations that Joseph Yun, the State Department’s point man on North Korea, will leave his post Friday, a departure said to reflect widespread frustration among U.S. diplomats about the Trump administration’s handling of Korea policy.