Last incident of USA seizing DPRK ship:
By Thomas Ricks and Peter Slevin in Washington
December 12 2002
United States explosives experts are working to stabilise 12
Scud missiles found on a North Korean ship boarded by Spanish and
US military forces in the Arabian Sea.
The So San, which had ignored warning shots from two Spanish
warships, was believed to have been heading for Yemen.
It had been
tracked by US spy satellites and navy ships since it left North
Korea in the middle of last month, Washington officials
said.
With tensions growing in the region because of possible US
action against Iraq, the seizure raises important questions about
how and when the US will enforce its promise to intercept weapons
of mass destruction - particularly items such as missiles, whose
sales are not banned under international law.
A US intelligence official speculated that Yemen had bought the
missiles to upgrade the handful of ageing Scuds that it already
possesses.
However, military analysts said the missiles could have destined
for one of North Korea's other arms clients, which include
Pakistan, Iran, Egypt, Libya and Syria.
Iraq used Scuds against Israel and Saudi Arabia in the 1991 Gulf
War and some Soviet-era Scuds have ended up in terrorist hands.
US intelligence officials said there was no link between the
North Korean ship and al-Qaeda or other terrorist groups.
The So San was
boarded early on Monday about 960 kilometres south-east of
Yemen.
Finding the missiles, hidden under sacks of cement, can only
deepen the strain in the already tense relationship between
Washington and Pyongyang.
It may also chill US relations with Yemen, which backed Iraq in
the Gulf War, and was the site of an attack on a US destroyer, the
Cole, that killed 17 American sailors in October 2000.
The US Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage - who arrived
in China yesterday on an Asian tour to drum up support for a likely
Washington-led war against Iraq - said the interception of the So
San was further evidence that North Korea was an important
proliferator of weapons.
But the discovery was unlikely to affect US policy on North
Korea.
"I don't think there's any change. This is not exactly a
development that is new," he said.
Two Spanish warships, the Navarra and the Patino, signalled the
freighter to stop around dawn on Monday. The Spanish ships were
part of a seaborne operation initially established to halt al-Qaeda
supporters who might be fleeing the war in Afghanistan.
When the So San tried to evade capture, the Spanish ships fired
warning shots across its bow. When it continued on, Spanish special
forces troops used helicopters to board the boat.
The crew of about 20 was then put under guard and the ship
searched. It quickly became apparent that there were problems with
the legal status of the ship, officials said, noting that its
original name had been painted over to conceal its North Korean
origin, and its registry papers were not in order.
A search uncovered discrepancies between the ship's manifest,
which listed a cargo of cement, and the actual load. The Spanish
soldiers opened large containers partially hidden by the cement and
found missile parts. They then called in US military experts in
handling explosives.
USS Nassau, which usually carries Marines, helicopters and
Harrier jump-jets, was standing by the freighter, which remained
off the Yemeni coast, an official said. Additional searches still
were under way.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/11/1039379883767.html
Gosh~... Damning evidence~...
