Posted on 12/11/2002 4:33:31 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
MADRID (Reuters) - A North Korean ship carrying hidden Scud missiles and about 85 drums of chemicals was bound for a Middle East port when it was intercepted in the Arabian Sea by Spanish warships, Spain says.
Spanish Defence Minister Federico Trillo told a news conference on Wednesday that the ship, carrying 15 Scuds and the drums of unidentified chemicals, was headed for an unidentified site in the Middle East.
It had now been placed under the control of the United States as the leader of an international coalition to fight "terrorism" and would be taken to Diego Garcia, an Indian Ocean island leased by Britain to the United States for a base.
"There are no indications that can lead us to a firm conclusion on the destination of the ship," Trillo said.
North Korea, supported by China in the past, has been branded by U.S. President George W. Bush as a member of an "axis of evil" along with Iraq and Iran.
The So San was intercepted at dawn on Monday after the captain of the Spanish frigate "Navarra" ordered it to stop its engines. The Spanish ship fired warning shots when the San So refused to stop and speeded up.
Spanish special forces boarded and took control of the ship without injuries, Trillo said.
Trillo said the ship was found to be carrying 15 complete Scud missiles and 15 conventional warheads.
U.S. and Spanish officials said the ship was carrying the Scud missiles under thousands of bags of cement.
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LOL. Look where the ship was headed. Unidentified, my foot.
And if everything was perfectly legal and above board, why all the bags of cement?
Someone's got a lot of 'splainin' to do.
On Today Senators Shelby and Graham did in fact reveal it was intelligence lying in wait and nada to do with luck. so you are correct.
The So San was intercepted at dawn on Monday after the captain of the Spanish frigate "Navarra" ordered it to stop its engines. The Spanish ship fired warning shots when the San So refused to stop and speeded up.
Spanish special forces boarded and took control of the ship without injuries, Trillo said.
Woohoo! "!El tirón a y prepara para estar abordar!" Bravo Zulu, guys!
Navarra is an U.S. design Perry class frigate, called the Santa Maria class. She entered service in the Armada in 1994.
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