US is tracking "suspicious vessel" out of North Korea

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
October 20th, 2006, 04:55

WASHINGTON: The United States is tracking a suspicious vessel that left a North Korean port, a US official said Thursday, adding it was uncertain what it was carrying.

CBS News reported that US intelligence suspects that the vessel is carrying military equipment banned under sanctions imposed by UN Security Council in response to North Korea's October 9 nuclear test.

"The United States is aware of a vessel that has left a North Korean port," the US official told AFP. "There are some suspicions. I would be careful of the certitude of the vessel's cargo."

The official said it was a "suspicious ship," suggesting that its history was a key reason for watching it.

According to CNN, the ship had transported weapons in the past and left a port southwest of Pyongyang.

While US forces are unlikely to board the vessel at sea because they have no evidence of wrongdoing, they will likely press for an inspection wherever the ship docks, CNN said, quoting unnamed US officials.