Taiwanese custom officials on Tuesday said they have seized 158 barrels of chemicals from a North Korean ship following a tip-off that the material could be used for military purposes.
The ship, which had arrived from Bangkok, left for Pyongyang after unloading the chemicals at Taiwan’s Kaohsiung port.
The North Korea-registered vessel Be Gae Hong arrived on Thursday at Kaohsiung from Bangkok with some 2,000 tonnes of aluminium materials and some 40 tonnes of the chemical in transit to North Korea, Taiwanese officials said. Press reports said Taiwan intercepted the shipment at the request of the United States, which had informed the island the ship was carrying some goods for military use. The US, which has urged countries to take more action to prevent trade in weapons of mass destruction, has hailed the Taiwanese move.
Expect major NK spittle soon. |