Report: Taiwan did plutonium testing

VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- Taiwan appears to have conducted experiments with plutonium -- a key component of nuclear weapons -- up to the mid-1980s, diplomats said today, citing environmental tests taken by the U.N. atomic watchdog agency.
The revelation appeared in line with reports that in the 1980s Taiwan briefly revived a nuclear weapons program that originated in the 1960s and was suspended in the 1970s, said the diplomats.
The diplomats said samples taken in Taiwan by inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency indicated that plutonium separation experiments probably continued until about 20 years ago.
Officials at the Vienna-based IAEA had no immediate comment.
In Taipei, Taiwanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Michel Lu said that ministry was not aware of the reports and would not immediately comment on them. Officials at Taiwan's Atomic Energy Council were not available after business hours today.
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