but i don't think Kang Nam will have enough fuel to reach here.
So it looks like it will dock in China.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy is monitoring a North
Korean ship at sea under new U.N. sanctions that bar Pyongyang from
exporting weapons, including missile parts and nuclear materials,
U.S. officials said on Thursday.
Officials said the vessel, called Kang Nam, is based in North
Korea and became "a subject of interest" after leaving a North
Korean port on Wednesday. They could not confirm media reports
describing the vessel as North Korean flagged.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, could not
say what the ship, now in international waters, might be
carrying.
One official said the Kang Nam would be the first North Korean
ship to be monitored under the authority of the U.N. sanctions
adopted last week after Pyongyang raised tensions by test-firing
missiles, restarting a plant to produce arms-grade plutonium and
conducting a May 25 nuclear test.
The Navy and the Pentagon both declined to comment on the
vessel.
The U.N. Security Council approved a resolution last Friday that
banned all weapons exports from North Korea and most arms imports
into the country. It authorized U.N. member states to inspect North
Korean sea, air and land cargo, requiring them to seize and destroy
shipped goods that violate the sanctions.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff,
declined to discuss specifics when asked about the ship at a
briefing on Thursday.
"I wouldn't go into any kind of details at this particular point
in time, except to say that it's very clear that the resolution
prohibits North Korea from shipping these kinds of materials ...
from conventional weapons up to fissile material or nuclear
weapons," Mullen said.
Mullen, the highest-ranking officer in the U.S. military,
stressed the U.N. resolution would allow the Navy to search a ship
only with permission.
If a vessel refused to allow a search, Mullen said the home
country of any port where the vessel docks would be required to
search its cargo.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the Obama administration was
also concerned about the possibility of North Korea firing off more
missiles, possibly in the direction of Hawaii.
"We're obviously watching the situation in the North with
respect to missile launches very closely, and we do have some
concerns if they were to launch a missile to the West in the
direction of Hawaii," he said.
"Without telegraphing what we will do, I would just say we are
in a good position -- should it become necessary -- to protect
American territory."
Gates said he had directed the redeployment of anti-missile
assets in the Pacific region, including advanced radar and other
defensive systems capable of bringing down medium-range ballistic
missiles as a precaution.
Sure it will not come here, u all simply do not understand about
shipping lines, even if it enter singapore water, it may not be the
same ship anymore, somewhere and somehow, the ship cargo will
change hands, and KangNam will be an empty vessel upon the arrival
of US navy. And once they got nothing, NK will be demanding US of A
and the world of unfair and prejudice treatment.
Singapore govt are very smart, they know that the ship will not
come, thereby proudly threaten and warn NK just to show to the
world and support USA.
