A North Korean cargo ship on June 21 was reportedly headed towards Myanmar while being followed by a Unites States Navy destroyer, displaying the degree to which the United States and its allies would enforce a new United Nations resolution to disable the North’s suspected arms trade, reports the New York Times.
The United States began pursuing the 2,000-ton Kang Nam after it left Nampo, a port near Pyongyang, on June 17. American officials did not announce the ship’s destination and what it might be holding, but said it was “a subject of interest.”
According to Fox News, the U.S. Navy destroyer John S. McCain was ready to intercept the ship if ordered to. North Korea has said it would regard an interception as “an act of war.”
Over the weekend, the North’s state-run news media said its cargo would “respond to sanctions with retaliation.” It also threatened “unlimited retaliatory strikes” against South Korea if it assisted the United States in enforcing the sanctions.
YTN, a news cable channel in South Korea, reported on June 21 that the Kang Nam was on its way to Myanmar, a country long thought to be purchasing North Korean arms and enabling North Korean vessels to carry out illegal trade.
The Kang Nam is the first North Korean vessel to be followed since the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on June 12 in response to the North’s May 25 nuclear test and subsequent missile firings. The resolution bans North Korean trafficking of nuclear weapons and even conventional arms, such as missiles.
It also urges other countries to search North Korean ships, if they agree to it, suspected of carrying banned cargo. If the crew declines an inspection on the high seas, the ship is required to stop at the nearest port for inspection by local authorities there.
The U.S. Navy’s aggressiveness in stopping a ship and, if necessary, subsequently directing it to a nearby port would test the tenacity of the United States and resistance by North Korea.
Singapore, a United States ally and regional refueling destination for ships, said it would cooperate with an inspection if a North Korean vessel were to be directed to its port. But Myanmar is not expected to assist.
Myanmar, like North Korea, has faced arms embargoes by the United States and European Union. Customers of North Korean arms having troubled relations with the United States, make it difficult for American officials to enforce an arms and nuclear weapons ban.
The possible overseas search on the Kang Nam by the United States came as United States defense officials planned to visit South Korea, Japan and China this week to discuss a thorough enforcing on the U.N. resolution. Last week, Washington urged banks not to permit financial transactions with North Korea. It also deployed a floating radar base near Hawaii to detect a long-range North Korean missile if launched against the United States.
In response to President Obama and President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea meeting on June 16, the North Korean government-operated weekly, Tongil Sinbo, warned that Washington and Seoul were “watching for a chance for an invasion.”
The isolate North’s belligerence to the outside world plummeted trade in May with South Korea by 38 percent, with $106 million in transactions that month, according to South Korea’s customs authorities.
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