I know exactly what happened. The North Koreans waited until the check cleared (using that slow boat) and then offered to sell the info to the Israelis.
That actually sounds quite plausible. Or not. Don’t think the North Koreans would be willing to sacrifice their nuclear fuel for any amount that Syria could afford. Maybe Iran, but not Syria. Maybe if we agreed to take them off the list of terror-supporting states. Not sure if even that would be enough for NK. Possession of actual nuclear weapons can’t be measured in $$$ alone. If NK actually double-crossed Syria, they’ll never get another drop of oil from Iran or Syria, so whatever they received from Israel/US/South Korea/etc. would need to be tremendous.
Mr. Kim. Mr. Kim Jong Il. Please pick up the white courtesy telephone. A Mr. Assad is holding for you.