The United Arab Emirates has seized a cargo of North Korean weapons being shipped to Iran, which would have violated a UN embargo on arms exports from the communist state, Western diplomats say.
The UAE reported the incident, which occurred two weeks ago, to the Security Council sanctions committee on North Korea, diplomats said on Friday.
The committee sent letters to Tehran and Pyongyang on August 25 informing them of the seizure and demanding a response within 15 days.
The weapons seized on August 14 included rocket launchers, detonators, munitions and ammunition for rocket-propelled grenades, it said.
The ship, called the ANL-Australia, was Australian-owned and flying a Bahamas flag.
"Based on past experience ... we don't expect a very detailed response," one of the diplomats said on condition of anonymity.
The diplomats said the Australian firm whose ship was seized is controlled by a French conglomerate and the actual export was arranged by the Shanghai office of an Italian company.
The diplomats did not name any of the firms involved.
"The cargo was deceptively labelled," said a diplomat "The cargo manifest said that the ship contained oil boring machines. But then you opened it up and you found these arms."The UAE mission to the UN declined comment on the case.
Source: Al Jazeera (English)
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