Libya Won’t Trade Arms With North Korea, Other Nations

Libya will not trade arms with Iran, North Korea, Syria or other nations it believes may spread weapons of mass destruction, after its own decision to give up such arms, the U.S. said Thursday.

Analysts and officials said the decision’s significance was in depriving North Korea of a customer for missile parts and in symbolically underscoring Libya’s Dec. 19 commitment to abandon chemical, biological and nuclear arms and long-range missiles.

They said it was unclear how much arms trade it would choke off, noting that Libya already had given up unconventional arms and was not thought to be a big supplier of conventional weaponry.

Libya’s Foreign Ministry did not specify any nations when it made the announcement.

However, John R. Bolton, undersecretary of State for arms control, said the countries included Iran, Syria and North Korea, and he welcomed the move as a demonstration of Libya’s commitment to giving up such arms and to “rejoining the international community.”