Posted on 09/12/2006 5:29:33 PM PDT by IrishMike
NICOSIA — The Republic of Cyprus has stopped a ship full of North Korean weapons systems bound for Syria. Officials said Greek Cypriot authorities responded to an alert by Interpol to capture a ship bound for Syria from North Korea. They said security agents found a mobile air defense system and components of a missile launcher.
"We will implement the law, nothing more and nothing less," Cypriot Justice Minister Sophocles Sophocleous said on Monday. "And the political position will be expressed by the foreign minister."
This is the first time that the Republic of Cyprus was believed to have seized a suspected weapons ship to Syria, Middle East Newsline reported. The ship, named the Panamanian-flagged Grigorio-1, reported a consignment of weather-observation equipment, officials said. But Interpol asserted that the freighter contained North Korean weapons systems and asked Nicosia to detain the ship for inspection.
Officials did not identify the North Korean air defense system. But they reported 18 truck-mounted mobile radar systems and three command vehicles.
The ship did not contain any missiles, officials said. They said the vessel carried irrigation pipes as well as components that could be part of a missile launcher.
Officials said Damascus had asked Nicosia to release the seized shipment. They said the ship's manifest does not identify Syria as the consignee.
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The Grigorio-1 was tracked by Interpol for several months, officials said. They said the ship was seized on Sept. 5 when it sailed near Larnaca for refueling.
Officials said Grigorio-1 left North Korea for the Middle East and stopped at several ports. They said the last leg of the journey began from Egypt's Port Said toward the Syrian port of Latakia.
(Excerpt) Read more at worldtribune.com ...
More evidence against the koreans. I wonder how many ships the U.S. just sinks at sea.
Scary.
Irish Mike: Glad you are back to posting!
Panamanian? Methinks a possible PRC connection.
Probably steaming in circles, waiting for a opportunity to dock because of the blockade and international tension.
I'd like to see what they are calling irrigation pipe.
Not enough.
you think the US navy is secretly sinking NK ships at sea? we can't be doing a very good job of it, iran has gotten lots of deliveries intact.
We should let Syria have the weapons...
...we'll just shoot all the weapons off at them, then they can try and catch 'em.
Think of it as a faster delivery service.
:-P
Beats me. It's a big ocean out there.
N. Korea: Cyprus halts Syria-bound ship carrying mobile radar units from N. Korea
He said no weapons had been found aboard the Panamanian-flagged Gregorio 1, but added that police had discovered 21 mobile radar units which had been impounded.Now the story is? :
The Republic of Cyprus has stopped a ship full of North Korean weapons systems bound for Syria. ...They said security agents found a mobile air defense system and components of a missile launcher.
"I'd like to see what they are calling irrigation pipe."
That's the main component for NK missles
Not enough.
I vaguely remember at least one other ship within the last 5 years, but can't remember which Muslim country it was going to.
It was scuds going to Yemen (Dec 2002). We let it continue on it's way (though Yemen allowed us to kill Al Qaeda in its territory): http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/july-dec02/yemen_12-11.html
"North Korea has exported missiles, missile components, and technology to Egypt, Iran, Libya, Pakistan, Syria, and Yemen." http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/NK/index.html
"Rice gave no details but said that the U.S. and 10 of its partners in the initiative have cooperated on 11 successful interdiction efforts over the past nine months. Iran was the only nation interdicted that she cited by name.
'snip'
Rice credited the initiative for the 2003 interdiction of the ship BBC China, saying the intercept played a ``major role'' in the unraveling of the global nuclear network of Pakistan's former chief nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan and in Libya's decision to eliminate its weapons of mass destruction programs.
The German-owned ship bound for Libya contained thousands of centrifuges that could have been used in the production of a nuclear device."
http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2250
And who was the author of PSI? Ambassador Bolton who the left refused to confirm.
Nice post. Thanks.
I would agree. China is the main beneficiary of turmoil in the Middle East. They have every reason to keep it stirred up. South America too but that will take more time.
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