North Korea suspect ship has turned around, says US official

Posted: 01 July 2009 0803 hrs

North Korean ship, the Kang Nam I, is anchored in Hong Kong waters.

WASHINGTON: A North Korean ship tracked by the US Navy and suspected of transporting weapons or military know-how in violation of UN sanctions has turned around, a Pentagon official said.

The official declined to provide details, including where the Kang Nam 1 ship - reportedly originally bound for Myanmar - could now be headed, but news reports out of South Korea suggested the ship may be returning home two weeks after it set sail June 17.

A diplomatic source speaking on condition of anonymity told the Korea Herald that the ship was "near our waters," which could suggest that sanctions were having an effect on reclusive North Korea.

"If the ship is on its way back, it would mean that Resolution 1874 is taking effect and causing the North to retreat," Kim Tae-woo, vice president of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, told the newspaper.

The Kang Nam 1 quickly drew the attention of the US military under new UN sanctions designed to punish Pyongyang over its May 25 underground nuclear test.

The US ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, confirmed Sunday that the United States was tracking the cargo ship.

"Obviously we're pursuing and following the progress of that ship very closely," she told the CBS network.

"I'm not going to get into our operational details or what we might actually do on the high seas, if anything, or what allies and partners in the region might do."

UN Security Council Resolution 1874, adopted in response to the May 25 nuclear test, calls for beefed up inspections of air, sea and land shipments going to and from North Korea, and an expanded arms embargo.

But a senior US lawmaker, Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, last week said the resolution had "serious limitations" because it rules out the use of military force to back up the searches.

- AFP/yb

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

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NKorean ship may be heading to Myanmar

Posted: 23 June 2009 0752 hrs

North Korean ship, the Kang Nam I, anchored in Hong Kong waters. (file photo)

WASHINGTON: A North Korean ship being tracked by a US Navy destroyer under new UN sanctions could be headed to Myanmar, a US defense official said Monday.

The Kang Nam 1 is the first North Korean ship to be monitored since the adoption of a UN resolution designed to punish Pyongyang over its underground nuclear test last month.

As the Aegis destroyer USS John S. McCain continued to shadow the cargo ship, US officials said the vessel could be bound for another reclusive state, Myanmar.

It appears "they're trying to go to Burma," a US defense official told AFP on condition of anonymity, using the country's old name.

The official offered no further details but analysts have speculated that the aging ship could be destined for Myanmar, as the two countries have close ties and have agreed arms deals in the past.

South Korea's YTN television news channel, citing an unnamed intelligence source, reported on Sunday the ship was suspected of carrying missiles or related parts and was heading for Myanmar via Singapore.

The 2,000-tonne ship left the North Korean western port of Nampo on June 17, with Myanmar set as its final destination, YTN said.

The cargo ship provides the first possible test of United Nations sanctions that ban arms shipments -- including missile-related cargo -- to and from North Korea. The UN resolution, however, rules out the use of military force to enforce the sanctions.

The ship was one of a group of North Korean vessels previously linked to illicit cargo, according to US officials.

"It's still at sea and we're monitoring it," said another US defense official, who asked not to be named.

So far there has been "no request to query this vessel," he said.

US officials have yet to indicate if or when they might ask to search the vessel under the UN Security Council resolution.

The North Koreans are expected to reject any such request. But at some point, the ship will likely need to stop for refueling, possibly in Singapore, one of the world's largest ports.

It was unclear when and where the ship would stop but the defense official noted that "these type of ships typically don't have a long range."

Under the UN resolution, the country where the ship enters port is obliged to search the vessel if there are grounds for suspicion.

Regional tensions are at their highest for years after the North launched a long-range rocket on April 5 and conducted its second nuclear test on May 25, prompting the tougher UN sanctions.

The United States was also monitoring activity at North Korean missile sites and facilities that suggested the regime was preparing another long-range missile launch.

Although there was continued activity, "there's nothing that indicates an imminent launch," the defense official said.

According to a Japanese media report, North Korea could fire a rocket in the direction of Hawaii on or around US Independence Day on July 4.

The North staged missile launches in 2006 while the United States was marking the holiday.

- AFP/yt

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

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Obama says US "fully prepared" for any NKorea nuke launch

Posted: 22 June 2009 0948 hrs

US President Barack Obama

WASHINGTON: The United States is "fully prepared for any contingencies" with North Korea, including a potential missile launch toward US territory, President Barack Obama said in an interview to be aired Monday.

"This administration - and our military - is fully prepared for any contingencies," Obama told CBS when asked about the possibility that North Korea could fire a missile toward Hawaii in the coming weeks.

Asked if that meant Washington was "warning of a military response," Obama answered: "No. It's just we are prepared for any contingencies.

"I don't want to speculate on hypotheticals. But I do want to give assurances to the American people that the T's are crossed and the I's are dotted in terms of what might happen," he added, according to excerpts released Sunday.

The US military has beefed up its Hawaii defences over fears Pyongyang may launch a missile at the Pacific island chain, and is tracking a North Korean ship possibly carrying banned cargo, Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday.

"I would just say I think we are in a good position should it become necessary to protect American territory," the Pentagon chief said, adding that he had approved the deployment to Hawaii of Theatre High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) weaponry for "support" in case of a North Korean launch.

South Korea's YTN television news channel, citing an unnamed intelligence source, said the United States suspects that the 2,000-tonne Kang Nam 1 is carrying missiles or related parts, and is heading for Myanmar via Singapore.

US defense officials have said a US Navy destroyer, the USS John S. McCain, is tracking the Kang Nam 1, which has been previously linked to illicit missile-related cargo.

It is the first vessel to be monitored under a United Nations resolution imposed a week ago that bans shipments of arms and nuclear or missile technology to and from North Korea.

US officials have yet to indicate if or when they might ask to search the vessel under the UN Security Council resolution.

In the interview, Obama also said there was strong international consensus against Pyongyang, after it detonated its second nuclear device on May 25 - following the first one in 2006 - and went ahead with what Washington called a disguised test of a long-range missile in April.

"More broadly, I think the international community has spoken," Obama said, noting that the UN Security Council has agreed to tighter cargo inspections, a stricter arms embargo and new targeted financial curbs to choke off revenue for the North's nuclear and missile sectors.

"That sends a signal... of a unity in the international community that we haven't seen in quite some time," Obama told CBS.

"And one of the things that we have been very clear about is that North Korea has a path towards rejoining the international community. And we hope they take that path. What we're not going to do is to reward belligerence and provocation in the way that's been done in the past."

Obama on Tuesday called Pyongyang a "grave threat" and vowed to defend South Korea after talks in Washington with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak.

The North in turn accused Obama and Lee of "trying to ignite a nuclear war."

"The US-touted provision of 'extended deterrence, including a nuclear umbrella' (for South Korea) is nothing but 'a nuclear war plan,'" the North's state-run weekly Tongil Sinbo said.

- AFP/yb

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

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