Amid reports in the American media that the alleged Israeli raid into Syria 10 days ago targeted a North Korean-Syrian nuclear facility, John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the UN, told The Jerusalem Post over the weekend that "simple logic" suggested North Korea and Iran could have outsourced nuclear development "to a country that is not under suspicion" - namely Syria. Tellingly, he added: "Why would North Korea protest an Israeli strike on Syria?"

The Syrian ambassador to the US, Imad Moustapha, warned at the weekend that Israel would "pay a price" for the raid. Interviewed in Newsweek, Moustapha dismissed as "ridiculous and untrue" the notion of Syrian-North Korean nuclear cooperation. "There are no nuclear North Korean- Syrian facilities whatsoever in Syria," Moustapha said.

Asked why Syria would take the risk of hosting part of a North Korean nuclear program, Bolton spoke of "Iranian compensation" and noted that "Syria is very aggressive in pursuing WMD capability." He said such a partnership would indeed be risky for Syria, but such risks might be considered worthwhile "when you're as aligned as seriously as Syria is with Iran."