Japanese TV SCOOP (NNN-Network) On N. Korean Cargo Filled With Weaponry Stopped in Thailand

NNN (Nihon Television) Network, Japan (Evening News) ^ | 16 December 2009 | AmericanInTokyo

[AmericanInTokyo]

God Bless those enterprising, digging Japanese journalists and their film crews.

A hot one in North Korean black weapons smuggling case was captured for all of Japan to see last night at the 11 p.m. TV news on NNN Network.

The pushy and curious Japanese journalists and cameramen with their long lenses (and fluent Farsi and Korean speaking investing staff in Tokyo), discovered some VERY interesting things about the North Korean aircraft stopped this week in Thailand with Ukranian crew flying weapons in violation of US sanctions. The flight crew has been very tight lipped, but the Japanese journalists nevertheless caught some things that were most interesting.

[AmericanInTokyo]

1. The Japanese TV crew got in close during interrogation of the foreign crew of this aircraft. The Japanese zeroed in, using telephoto lenses, on the Thai police confession sheets that the men were apparantly been given to sign (that they were trafifficking in weapons).

2. The crew zoomed in on the attached BILL OF LADING issued for the cargo in question.

3. The BILL OF LADING was issued by AIR KORYO the national flag carrier for North Korea (and used in the past for espionage and smuggling).

4. The crews then went over to the Air Koryo sales office in Bangkok and burst into the door, confronting a North Korean local employee, showing him video of what they had taken. He got nervous, angry, showed them the door and only said "this must be a fake document. That is not ours".

5. Meanwhile, the crew said they were heading for Ukraine with the massive cargo of weaponry. However, the Japanese TV crew was at it again, they got a close look at the Bill of Lading with the destination, filmed it, and reaired it. It was clearly handrwitten in English on the sheet "MEHRABAD AIRPORT" (Teheran),فرودگاه مهرآباد (IATA Code: THR) is an airport that serves Teheran, Iran. This airport is close to the city center of Teheran and is not used widely for commercial international arrivals and departures, and is also shared by the Iranian military.

6. Japanese crews called Iran in Farsi and grilled personnel of Mehrabad Airport but they also denied that such an aircraft was heading or scheduled to head to their airport, and seemed perturbed by the call.

Summary of cargo at this time:

Multiple rocket launchers - two mobile units - and two dozen 240 mm unguided rockets. The total value of weapons found in 145 large boxes that weigh nearly 40 tons all up was estimated at around Baht 600 million.No nuclear munitions or weapons of mass destruction were found on board.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Ping!

Can you guys imagine CNN, MSNBC, FOX, et al. going to this length to get the truth of this critical story? (IMHO they have neither the will, nor the infrastructure and capabilities).

Maybe the US does not like the unfortunate timing of this international crime in Thailand and does not want to cover so largely due to State Dept's Bosworth's recently finished appeasement message to Pyongyang and Senator Obama's recent surrender letter to Kim Jong il (another Presidential kowtow).

[AmericanInTokyo]

Additional Pings!

[patriot preacher]

bookmark

[AmericanInTokyo]

I should have added two things here about that critical, investigative Japanese TV report:

1) The same Japanese TV network's female reporter stationed to NYC on the same day "ambushed" the senior North Korean chief to the United Nations as he got out of his limousine going into the DPRK Office. She chased after him and said "North Korea was involved in the weapons shipment, and it is violation of UN sanctions, isn't that correct?". The North Korean diplomat ignored her completely, looked VERY pissed off, and stormed inside a building without saying a thing.

2) The Japanese crew not only called the airport in Iran to get details, they got ahold of the stipulated RECIPIENT in Iran at the airport on the Air Way Bill who was supposed to receive the weapons. They had his telephone number and called him directly, talking and grilling him in Farsi. He denied everything but you could tell of his shock and anger.

Good job Japan. Israeli national security probably owes you a big thanks as well, as to the airport police in Bangkok who were on the ball.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Why, BOOKMARKING myself! ;-)

[MEG33]

Good job by the Japanese journalists.

[AmericanInTokyo]

When they get into it, they can get into it. It is fun to watch. They have a lot of stones, they get right in the guilty party’s faces and rapidly state the facts and do not back down.

[papasmurf]

Several news outlets did report it, on the 13th.

That said, you did a much better, more thorough job. :)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/13/north-korea-arms-smuggling-plane is where I saw it first.

[MEG33]

Perhaps ZerO needs to give Kim a deep curtsy..and kiss his ring.

[GeronL]

Our media won’t even consider doing real journalism anymore.

[nutmeg]

Very interesting report from FReeper AmericanInTokyo. Here's an excerpt, but there's much more info in post #1:

God Bless those enterprising, digging Japanese journalists and their film crews.

A hot one in North Korean black weapons smuggling case was captured for all of Japan to see last night at the 11 p.m. TV news on NNN Network.

The pushy and curious Japanese journalists and cameramen with their long lenses (and fluent Farsi and Korean speaking investing staff in Tokyo), discovered some VERY interesting things about the North Korean aircraft stopped this week in Thailand with Ukranian crew flying weapons in violation of US sanctions. The flight crew has been very tight lipped, but the Japanese journalists nevertheless caught some things that were most interesting...

Summary of cargo at this time:

Multiple rocket launchers - two mobile units - and two dozen 240 mm unguided rockets. The total value of weapons found in 145 large boxes that weigh nearly 40 tons all up was estimated at around Baht 600 million.No nuclear munitions or weapons of mass destruction were found on board.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Oh, no doubt at all that it was covered worldwide since the 13th when it broke. But this in-depth Japanese report that dug at any interesting angle, just appeared on TV only last night. I think they filmed it earlier in the day in Bangkok (Thailand?!) or maybe the 14th. The guys were still under interrogation. Thai police let them get pretty close. I bet the North Korean embassy in Bangkok (if they have one) is having an absolute FIT these days. As I said earlier, if these were North Korean pilots, they would have long ago swallowed the cyanide or would have shot each other in a round robin of execution style shootings, the last one offing himself. They do NOT want to be interrogated, for if they spill any beans, their families would suffer greatly in North Korean. It seems by and large the Ukranians and Khazaks flying the bird had a different arrangement.

Kind of like "Gene Hasenfus" saying "shucks, us never knowed what it wuz we wuz carrying." What an over the hill set of bush pilots, fat assess sitting their in Thai detention. This would be comical if it were not so serious.

[onemiddleamerican]

Good job by the Japanese journalists.

And great job by Thai officials, too!

[MEG33]

Amen!

[stevie_d_64]

Well all it apparently needs now is a “trigger” design to complete a device...

All of this stuff on the plane is plain ole gravy...

[Diver Dave]

Kudos to AmericaninTokyo, Japanese Journalists and the Thailand authorities!

A FReeper in Tokyo, hard hitting journalists and authorities that won’t swallow the political correctness pill.

American MSM, SRM - are you taking notes? Don’t ya think you should earn your excessive salaries with aggressive fact-finding? oh, sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt your “I’m a journalist” persona.

It’s way past time your employers expected top-quality work for the big bucks you’re paid. What? They can’t afford top quality work? Whodathunk?

[BykrBayb]

We used to have a term for that here in the States. “Investigative journalism.” It’s a term I haven’t seen used in many years. We haven’t had anyone to apply it to.

[Cindy]

Thank you for the ping American in Tokyo.

You did a great job putting this thread together.

#

A Look at Iran
http://www.truthusa.com/IRAN.html

[elhombrelibre]

Some items would probably be smuggled onward to Afghanistan to kill Americans.