Mubarak Rejects Israeli Reports on Egypt's Arms Deal With N. Korea

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, November 29, 2001

Mubarak Rejects Israeli Reports on Egypt's Arms Deal With N. Korea

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday termed as "untrue" Israeli media reports that Egypt has signed an arms deal with North Korea, the state-run MENA news agency said.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday termed as "untrue" Israeli media reports that Egypt has signed an arms deal with North Korea, the state-run MENA news agency said.

Israeli media quoted South Korean newspapers as saying that under the secret deal, Egypt would purchase 24 surface-to-surface missiles with 1,000-kilometer range from North Korea.

Dismissing the reports as "untrue," Mubarak said that "I have repeatedly announced that we are not seeking this kind of weapon because we are not seeking aggression."

He stressed that Egypt is determined to realize peace in the Middle East where all peoples could live safely and free of mass destruction weapons, adding that Israel is the only state that possesses nuclear and chemical weapons in the region.

Mubarak criticized Israel for attempting to create an atmosphereof tension in the region and drive a wedge between the U.S. and Egypt. "It is not surprising to see such claims and campaigns against Egypt at certain times," he said.

The Egyptian leader said that spreading such lies were aimed at covering up for Israeli aggressions against the Palestinians, warning that they does not serve the Mideast peace process and would be harmful to the interests of the Israeli people.

Egypt, the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israelin 1979, has been playing a key mediating role in resolving the Arab-Israeli conflicts.

But ties between Egypt and Israel have been cool due to Israel'sexcessive use of force during the bloody clashes with the Palestinians since September last year.