N. Korea may have sought to beat sanctions

December 24, 2009|Associated Press

BANGKOK - North Korea, banned from selling arms by UN sanctions, may have gambled and lost when it dispatched 35 tons of weapons by air rather than by sea as it has done in the past. The plane was seized in Bangkok.

The 11-day saga, spanning the globe from Pyongyang to Azerbaijan to the Thai capital, remains shrouded in mystery and missing pieces, including the final destination of the Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane now under Thai custody along with its five-man crew.

The cache of North Korean weapons was not headed to Iran, a senior Thai police official said yesterday, contradicting an earlier report from arms trafficking specialists.

The crew members insisted their final destination was Sri Lanka, their lawyer said after visiting the jailed men.

But specialists in South Korea say one thing appears clear: North Korea is seeking new ways to break through a US-led interdiction program of its arms sales.