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DPRK ship under US scrutiny 'heads back'

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-02 08:21

SEOUL: A ship of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) monitored for more than a week by the US Navy has changed course and is heading back the way it came, US officials said.

The Kang Nam 1 - originally believed to be bound for Myanmar with suspicious cargo on board, possibly illicit weapons - turned around and headed back north on Sunday, two US officials said on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence.

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The US officials, speaking in Washington on Tuesday, said they do not know where the ship is going. But it was some 400 km south of Hong Kong on Tuesday and heading north, one official said.

The DPRK ship is the first vessel monitored under UN sanctions aimed at punishing Pyongyang for conducting an underground nuclear test in May.

The DPRK has said it would consider interception of its ships a declaration of war.

The two US officials said the ship has been moving very slowly in recent days in a possible sign it was trying to conserve fuel.

The resolution prohibits UN member countries from providing fuel to DPRK ships suspected of carrying banned items.

Myanmar's authorities had informed the DPRK ambassador that it would not allow the Kang Nam to dock if it was carrying weapons or other banned materials, a Radio Free Asia report said.

AP