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myanmar A North Korean vessel believed to be transporting an illicit cargo of missile components to Myanmar was intercepted two weeks ago by U.S. naval forces, Reuters reported on Monda (see GSN, June 8). High-ranking U.S. officials told the New York Times the North Korean ship was made to sail back to its home port following a maritime impasse and diplomatic prodding by the United States and Asian countries that stretched over multiple days. The destroyer USS McCampbell intercepted the cargo vessel M/V Light, which was registered in Belize, on May 26 in waters south of Shanghai. U.S. officials had earlier begun monitoring the ship, which is suspected to have conducted other illicit cargo trips.


The U.S. warship requested permission to send personnel to the cargo vessel under jurisdiction provided by Belize but was refused, the newspaper reported. International sanctions passed against North Korea following its 2006 and 2009 nuclear tests outlaw all atomic and missile technology-related commerce with the Stalinist state. A 2010 U.N. Security Council resolution makes it lawful for U.N. member nations to search North Korean cargo shipped by land, air or sea (JoAnne Allen, Reuters/Yahoo!News, June 13). In 2010, another cargo ship presumed to be carrying North Korean missile components was able to make it Myanmar before the United States could take action. Even under heightened U.N. sanctions, Pyongyang is still believed to be evading some international controls and selling its missile technology to nations such as Iran, the Times reported (see GSN, May 16). "This case had an interesting wrinkle: the ship was North Korean, but it was flagged in Belize," one U.S. official said. Belize is a participant of the U.S.-led Proliferation Secu

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