Ten North Koreans were killed in an IAF air strike on a Syria installation September, Bloomberg reported Monday, quoting an NHK report that cited unidentified South Korean intelligence officials.

According to the report, the Koreans' remains were returned to North Korea after being cremated.

The report quoted a Japanese broadcaster who said that they had been assisting the Syrians in the construction of a nuclear reactor. Several North Korean workers survived the air strike, the report said.

Yielding to months of pressure from the US Congress, the Bush administration gave members briefings on Thursday indicating that on September 6, Israel destroyed an alleged Syrian nuclear reactor built with North Korean help.

The CIA released footage of the alleged reactor showing several North Koreans, including the head of the country's nuclear negotiating team.

The Syrian facility was almost complete when it was attacked, and was far enough along to demonstrate a resemblance to the North Korean reactor at Yongbyon, which in the past has produced small amounts of plutonium and is supposedly now being dismantled, a US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information.