North Korea Ship Has Turned Around
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.
