Uncovering the Nuclear Black Market: Working toward closing gaps in the international nonproliferation Regime

In February 2004, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, considered the father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb, admitted that he had transferred sensitive nuclear technology to Libya, Iran, and North Korea. Dr. Khan’s statement was a significant breakthrough for international efforts to uncover a secret network involved in illegal trading of nuclear technology. His confession opened the door for US, IAEA, and other investigators to delve far deeper into which individuals, companies, countries, and specific technologies were involved in such sales. The network of sellers, middlemen, and manufacturers is very large, and it will take time uncover and break up the whole system. It is important to expose the full extent of the network so that it cannot continue on. In addition, a complete understanding of the way in which proliferators bought and sold equipment and information is vital to assessing flaws in current nonproliferation efforts, including safeguards and export controls. Such knowledge can lead to recommendations on how to improve the nuclear nonproliferation regime.