Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, whose country abandoned weapons of mass destruction programmes in 2003, said that at one stage Libya had come close to building a nuclear bomb, the Libyan news agency reported today.
"It is true that Libya came close to building a nuclear bomb. This is no longer a secret ... as everything was laid bare by the International Atomic (Energy) Agency for everyone to see," the agency quoted Gaddafi as saying yesterday in a speech to Libyan engineers.
"The programmes and equipment (to build a nuclear bomb) are known," he added.
It was the first time any Libyan official has confirmed that the north African country of more than five million had been trying to build a nuclear bomb.
Gaddafi, who was speaking mainly about the country's need for economic self-reliance, referred to Libya's efforts to gain the bomb as one of several examples of Libyans being successful in challenging endeavours. He gave no further details.
In December 2003 Libya said it was abandoning its weapons of mass destruction programmes and would allow in international weapons inspectors.
The move was the most startling of several by Libya that helped the OPEC oil producer to repair relations with the West after decades of estrangement over Western allegations that Libya supported terrorism.