BANGKOK - The detention in Thailand of a cargo plane transporting weapons and the arrest of its crew remain shrouded in mystery. The destination of the weapons and identity of their buyers is uncertain. American officials and analysts believe, however, that the intervention dealt a blow to North Korea's arms sales.
The Air West flight's outbound journey was normal enough. After leaving Ukraine, the aircraft stopped to refuel in Azerbaijan, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bangkok before landing in Pyongyang. After picking up the cargo in North Korea, the crew told authorities, the flight was scheduled to stop in Bangkok, Sri Lanka, the UAE and finally Ukraine. What they haven't told investigators is where they planned to offload the weapons.
Thai authorities are baffled about why the plane stopped in Bangkok on the return trip since Thailand is known for close ties to the United States. A more direct route would have been over China, stopping in Lashio or Mandalay in Myanmar to refuel. Another flight from North Korea in November 2008 took this route in an attempt to take cargo to Iran that American authorities feared could be related to weapons of mass destruction. That flight was blocked when India refused to allow the plane to fly through its airspace. The Air West flight's scheduled stop in Colombo, Sri Lanka, was likely an attempt to avoid a repeat.
read more @ asia times
2. nevermind, mystery solved, the weapons were bound for the Middle East. natch. and if the director of intelligence says it it must be true (wink)
WASHINGTON - AN ILLICIT North Korean arms shipment seized in Thailand last week was destined for the Middle East, the head of US intelligence said on Friday.
About 30 tonnes of sanctions-busting weapons were confiscated in Bangkok on Saturday but it had remained unclear where the North Korean shipment was headed.
'Teamwork among different agencies in the United States and partners abroad just last week led to the interdiction of a Middle East-bound cargo of North Korean weapons,' Dennis Blair, the director of national intelligence, wrote in a commentary in the Washington Post.
Adm Blair's reference marked the first public comment by the administration on the destination of the arms and the first official confirmation on the US role in the case. Thai officials had said they seized the cargo plane carrying missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons on a tip from the United States.
The cache was discovered after the plane landed for refueling on Friday. The plane began its journey in Pyongyang and Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the weapons came from a North Korean company.
Thai officials said they were enforcing United Nations Resolution 1874 passed in June following North Korean missile and nuclear tests. It was the first known airborne arms cargo from Pyongyang to have been seized since the resolution banned all its weapons exports. -- AFP
source: straits times
No comments:
Post a Comment