(AFP) – The US Navy intercepted a North Korean ship suspected of carrying missiles or other weapons to Myanmar and made it turn back, a senior US official said Monday. The comments by Gary Samore, special assistant to President Barack Obama on weapons of mass destruction, confirmed reports of the incident, which happened last month, in The New York Times and South Korean media.
The New York Times said the ship was intercepted south of the Chinese city of Shanghai by a US destroyer on May 26.
In an interview with Yonhap news agency, Samore identified the cargo ship as the M/V Light and said it may have been bound for Myanmar with military-related contraband, such as small arms or missile-related items.
"We talked directly to the North Koreans. We talked directly to all the Southeast Asian countries including Myanmar, urging them to inspect the ship if it called into their port," he was quoted as saying.
"The US Navy also contacted the North Korean ship as it was sailing, to ask them where they were going and what cargo they were carrying."
North Korea is subject to international and United Nations sanctions designed to curb its missile and nuclear programmes.
UN Resolution 1874, adopted in June 2009, one month after the North's second nuclear test, toughened a weapons embargo and authorised member states to intercept such shipments.
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