ISLAMABAD, Nov 28: Pakistan on Thursday dismissed the possibility of US sanctions against it for what it called “baseless” reports of its nuclear cooperation with North Korea.

Foreign ministry spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan refuted the possibility of any sanctions being imposed against Pakistan by the United States “since the allegations had no basis in fact.”

“The mention of sanctions had only been made in motivated and biased stories appearing in the US press,” Khan said in a statement.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Monday that President Pervez Musharraf has been told of “consequences” should there be any repeat of reported nuclear cooperation with “axis of evil” member North Korea.

Mr Powell told reporters travelling with him in Mexico that he had no new information to suggest Pakistan, a key anti-terror ally of the United States, was helping Pyongyang build its nuclear programme.

“I have made it clear to him that any sort of contact between Pakistan and North Korea we believe would be improper, inappropriate and would have consequences,” he said.

“He has assured me on more than one occasion that there are no further contacts and he guarantees that there are no contacts of the kind that were referred to in the article.”

The New York Times reported on Sunday that a Pakistani aircraft arrived in North Korea as recently as July to pick up missile parts as part of an alleged barter arrangement in exchange for Islamabad-supplied uranium enrichment equipment.

The Times first reported in October that Pakistan had supplied machinery to North Korea to make weapons-grade uranium — the basis of its recently-revealed nuclear arms programme.

Powell said he knew of no moves to impose sanctions on Pakistan, as would be required under legislation designed to punish the transfer of uranium enrichment technology.

Pakistan has vigorously denied the Times report, which quoted intelligence officials who said Islamabad gave the North designs for gas centrifuges and machinery it needs for its enriched uranium nuclear arms project.

The White House on Monday stuck to a formulation which suggests that Washington believes Pakistan aided Stalinist North Korea in the past — but has not done so since signing up to President George W. Bush’s anti-terror campaign.—AFP