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Suspicious N. Korean freighter yet to reach home: official By Sam Kim SEOUL, July 6 (Yonhap) -- A North Korean freighter suspected of carrying weapons banned under a U.N. resolution has yet to enter North Korean waters, a South Korean official said Monday. "It has not yet entered North Korea. (The journey) will likely end within the day," South Korean defense ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae said in a briefing.

N. Korea using Malaysian bank to deal weapons with Myanmar: source By Sam Kim SEOUL, July 4 (Yonhap) -- North Korea sought payment through a bank in Malaysia for its suspected shipment of weapons to Myanmar that is being carried on a freighter tracked by the U.S. Navy, a source said Saturday. The visit by a U.S. envoy to Malaysia this weekend will focus on ways to cut off the payment transaction for the cargo from the bank in Malaysia to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, the source said. "Kim will have a hard time collecting his money," the high-level...

A North Korean ship being tracked by the United States Navy on suspicion of transporting weapons to Burma has turned around, US officials have said. They said they did not know where the ship was now heading, but South Korean media said it was going home. The UN passed a tough sanctions resolution, Number 1874, allowing for inspections of air, ship and land shipments in and out of North Korea. The resolution followed North Korea's nuclear and missile tests in May. The Kang Nam 1 ship set sail from North Korea on 17 June and appeared to be bound for...

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. official says a North Korean ship has turned around and is headed back the way it came, after being tracked for days by American vessels on suspicion it was carrying illicit weapons. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence, says it is unclear whether the Kang Nam is going back to its home port in North Korea or diverting elsewhere.

By GORDON G. CHANG From today's Wall Street Journal Asia. At this moment the Kang Nam, a North Korea tramp freighter, is on the high seas tailed by a team of American destroyers and submarines and watched by reconnaissance satellites and aircraft. On board, its cargo could be plutonium pellets, missile parts or semi-ripe melons. In any event, Washington wants to know what is in the rusty ship's hold. Why the interest in this particular vessel? The Kang Nam is a "repeat offender" and known to carry "proliferation materials." As an unnamed American official told Fox News this month, "This...

SEOUL, South Korea – The United States will not use force to inspect a North Korean ship suspected of carrying banned goods, an American official was quoted as saying Friday.

The North Korean cargo ship Kangnam that is being tracked by a U.S. destroyer due to suspicions that it carries weapons is steaming toward the moment of truth. "The moment is approaching when the North Korea sanctions framework led by the U.S. and North Korean provocations collide," a government official said Thursday. Chances are the moment will come when the ship pulls into port, he added. The U.S. has been monitoring the 2,080-ton Kangnam with KH-12 reconnaissance satellite and P-3C patrol plane mobilized since it left Nampo Port on June 17. Since June 21, the ship has been tracked by...

SEOUL, South Korea — Punching their fists into the air and shouting "Let's crush them!" some 100,000 North Koreans packed Pyongyang's main square Thursday for an anti-U.S. rally as the communist regime promised a "fire shower of nuclear retaliation" for any American-led attack. Several demonstrators held up a placard depicting a pair of hands smashing a missile with "U.S." written on it, according to footage taken by APTN in Pyongyang on the anniversary of the day North Korean troops charged southward, sparking the three-year Korean War in 1950. North Korean troops will respond to any sanctions or U.S. provocations with...

N.Korea 'Helping Burma with WMD'North Korea is helping Burma with the acquisition of so-called weapons of mass destruction, with the U.S. claiming that the North Korean ship Kangnam is headed for the Southeast Asian country. The Burmese junta "has bought technologies on the open market that are potentially usable in a nuclear program, and North Korean arms companies involved in the nuclear trade have become active" in Burma, the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday said quoting speculation by U.S., Asian and UN officials. "North Korea has used [Burmese] ports and airstrips to transfer arms and contraband to third countries, including...

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea threatened Wednesday to wipe the United States off the map as Washington and its allies watched for signs the regime will launch a series of missiles in the coming days. Off China's coast, a U.S. destroyer was tailing a North Korean ship suspected of transporting illicit weapons to Myanmar in what could be the first test of U.N. sanctions passed to punish the nation for an underground nuclear test last month. The Kang Nam left the North Korean port of Nampo a week ago with the USS John S. McCain close behind. The ship,...

Defense: The former presidential candidate argues the U.S. should stop and board the North Korean ship if we know it carries banned cargo. Some say it would be an act of war. So is firing missiles at Hawaii.Some say it would be an act of war. So was the naval blockade of Cuba in October 1962 in a confrontation with an infinitely more dangerous foe. Sometimes it's just necessary to exert military pressure to call someone's bluff and nip a growing threat in the bud. The U.S. Navy is tracking a North Korean ship under new U.N. resolution 1874 that...

Reuters has an article speculating what might happen with the North Korean ship Kang Nam. Latest news reports suggest the ship is bound for Myanmar, a country unlikely to abide by any United Nations resolution. No one really knows how this might unfold, but based on Obama's comments early last week, I think the ship will not be allowed to complete its journey. These comments in particular describe the policy. Obama said that, in recent years, North Korea's provocations have been "rewarded" as Western countries offered fuel, food and loans in exchange for promises of good behavior that are eventually...

The USS John S. McCain is still shadowing the Kang Nam -- the North Korean vessel suspected of carrying weapons or nuclear material -- and it is currently 200 miles south of Shanghai, according to a senior U.S. defense official.

A U.S. Navy destroyer is tailing a North Korean ship suspected of carrying illicit weapons toward Myanmar in what could be the first test of new U.N. sanctions against the North over its recent nuclear test, a leading TV network said Sunday. The South Korean news network YTN, citing an unidentified intelligence source in the South, said the U.S. suspects the cargo ship Kang Nam is carrying missiles and related parts. Myanmar's military government, which faces an arms embargo from the United States and the European Union, has reportedly bought weapons from North Korea. YTN said the U.S. has deployed...

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A US Navy destroyer is tracking a North Korean ship possibly carrying banned cargo as part of international efforts to enforce UN sanctions against Pyongyang, according to a US defense official. The USS John S. McCain was shadowing the vessel, the Kang Nam, the first ship to be monitored under a UN resolution imposed a week ago that bans arms shipments to and form North Korea, the official said. "We are keeping an eye on that ship," the official, who asked not to be named, told AFP.

Pictured: The massive floating destroyer the Americans are sending to keep North Korean missiles at bay By DAILY MAIL REPORTER 19th June 2009 USS John McCain: The destroyer has been deployed to intercept a North Korean vessel suspected of carrying illicit weapons The U.S. military is planning to intercept a North Korean ship suspected of carrying illicit nuclear materials and missiles. Navy destroyer the USS John McCain has been deployed to intercept the Kang Nam as it leaves the coast of China, according to a senior US defence official. The ship, which left a port in North Korea on Wednesday,...

The U.S. military is tracking a ship from North Korea that may be carrying illicit weapons, the first vessel monitored under tougher new United Nations rules meant to rein in and punish the communist government following a nuclear test, officials said Thursday. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he has ordered additional protections for Hawaii just in case North Korea launches a long-range missile over the Pacific Ocean. The suspect ship could become a test case for interception of the North's ships at sea, something the North has said it would consider an act of war. Officials said the U.S. is...

A ship named Kang Nam left a port in North Korea Wednesday and could be carrying missile parts or nuclear materials in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution. FOXNews.com Thursday, June 18, 2009 The U.S. military is tracking a flagged North Korean ship suspected of proliferating weapons material in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution passed last Friday, FOX News has learned. The ship, Kang Nam, left a port in North Korea Wednesday and could be carrying weaponry, missile parts or nuclear materials. The U.S. military has been tracking it since its departure. "It is believed to be...

U.S.Military Tracking North Korean Ship Suspected of Proliferating Missiles, Nukes A ship named Kang Nam left a port in North Korea Wednesday and could be carrying missile parts or nuclear materials in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution. FOXNews.com Thursday, June 18, 2009 The U.S. military is tracking a flagged North Korean ship suspected of proliferating weapons material in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution passed last Friday, FOX News has learned. The ship, Kang Nam, left a port in North Korea Wednesday and could be carrying weaponry, missile parts or nuclear materials. The U.S. military has been...