Syria was "building a covert nuclear reactor in its eastern desert capable of producing plutonium," according to US officials. The White House said the reactor at Al Kibar was being built with North Korean assistance and was based on the design of North Korea's gas-graphite reactor at Yongbyon.rnUS Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director General Mike Hay-rnden said the USA had suspected since 2001 that North Korea and Syria were cooperating on nuclear technology. In the spring of last year, new information which included photographs of the interior and exterior of the facility "offered our first unambiguous indication that the building was a nuclear reactor," Hayden said. "Moreover, the reactor would have been capable of producing plutonium for nuclear weapons, was not configured to produce electricity,rnand was ill-suited for research."
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