The United Arab Emirates has seized a cargo ship bound for Iran with a cache of banned rocketpropelled grenades and other arms from North Korea, the first such seizure since sanctions against North Korea were ramped up, diplomats and officials said on Friday.
The seizure earlier this month was carried out in accordance with new UN Security Council sanctions meant to derail North Korea's nuclear weapons programme, but which also ban the North's sale of any conventional arms.
Diplomats identified the vessel as a Bahamas-flagged cargo vessel, the ANL Australia ."We can confirm that the UAE detained a North Korean vessel containing illicit cargo," a Western diplomat said.
Turkey's deputy UN ambassador, Fazli Corman, who chairs the Securit y Council's sanctions panel, also confirmed the incident without providing details and said council members are examining the seriousness of it.
The UAE, a hub for Iranian goods,seized the ship earlier in August. The ship is registered in the Bahamas, a common country of registry for vessels, but it wasn't immediately clear who owns it nor where the owner is based.
The Security Council's latest resolution came in the wake of North Korea's second nuclear test in May and firing of six short-range rockets.
The ship's seizure and reported violation of a UN arms embargo was reported by the UAE in a confidential letter two weeks ago to the council's sanctions committee for North Korea,which is comprised of diplomats from all 15 nations on the Security Council,according to diplomats and officials.
The Financial Times first reported the weapons' seizure on Friday.
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