German Accused of Aiding North Korea's Nuclear Program

A German businessman from the state of Baden-Württemberg is likely to be sentenced to four years in prison for supporting North Korea's nuclear program. District attorney Martin Klose said in a regional court in Stuttgart on Wednesday that the 58-year-old accused had violated a weapons ban and a foreign trade law with his planned delivery of aluminum ducts to North Korea. Klose added that the accused, the CEO of a company called Optronic, had initially planned to supply 20 tons of aluminum ducts to North Korea via China that would have allowed the communist country to manufacture weapons-grade uranium in a little over two months. "He deliberately took the decision to help North Korea to build the atom bomb," Klose said. The accused has been in detention since April 2003. The ruling is expected for Friday.