SEOUL– A Pakistani atomic scientist, known to have played a key role in helping North Korea develop its nuclear weapons program in the 1990s, reportedly died Sunday.
Abdul Qadeer Khan, revered as the founder of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb program, died at 85 while being treated for a lung infection Sunday morning after contracting COVID-19 in August, according to Pakistan’s state-run PTV News and other media reports.
He is considered a national hero for making Islamabad among the world’s first Islamic nuclear powers but regarded as a dangerous figure in the United States and other countries for smuggling nuclear technology to rogue states.
In 2004, Khan admitted to having illegally shared Pakistan’s nuclear technology with other states, including North Korea, Iran and Libya.
Source: Yonhap News Agency