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A North Korean transport plane and its cargo of arms was on its way to Iran before being confiscated in December in Thailand, according to a newly leaked Thai government report (see GSN, Jan. 29).
The report was written by the Thai Foreign Ministry and submitted to the United Nations, the New York Times reported. However, the findings are not meant to be definitive, said a Thai government spokesman, as investigations into the Dec. 11 seizure of some 35 tons of North Korean-made weaponry in Bangkok are ongoing (see GSN, Dec. 14, 2009).
Information on the final destination of the transport plane and its cargo of fuses, possible missile components, rockets and rocket-propelled grenades has been scant and sometimes conflicting.
"We don’t know exactly where the plane was going," Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn, said yesterday, adding that the aircraft's submitted flight plan contained several destinations in addition to Tehran' Mehrabad Airport. "The cargo could have been offloaded at any of those destinations" (Fuller/Choe, New York Times, Jan. 31).
Questions have been raised as to why Iran's advanced military would be interested in the conventional battlefield weaponry found in the cargo. This has led to speculation that the arms might have been ultimately destined for extremist Middle Eastern organizations with ties to Iran, the Associated Press reported.
The weapons were shipped by Pyongyang in violation of the U.N. Security Council sanctions passed last year in the wake of North Korea's second nuclear test. The Stalinist state is thought to annually export hundreds of millions of dollars worth of missiles and other weaponry to nations such as Iran, Myanmar and Syria (Jane Fugal, Associated Press I/Washington Post, Feb. 1).
Meanwhile, a senior representative for U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is expected to travel to North Korea next week, the Korea Herald reported.
A statement from Ban's office said Political Affairs Undersecretary General Lynn Pascoe would visit North Korea from Feb. 9 to Feb. 12 as a special envoy of the secretary general.
"Pascoe will discuss with D.P.R.K. officials all issues of mutual interest and concern in a comprehensive manner," the statement read. "He will also meet with the U.N. country team, and members of the diplomatic corps."
Pascoe's visit comes as the international community seeks to persuade Pyongyang to return to paralyzed nuclear disarmament talks. The North has demanded the immediate lifting of U.N. sanctions and peace treaty talks with the United States as its price for returning -- conditions that have been rejected by Washington and Seoul.
The special envoy is also expected to travel to China, Japan and South Korea -- three of the nations participating in the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program. The others are North Korea, Russia and the United States (Korea Herald I, Feb. 1).
Pascoe hopes to re-establish senior-level, direct contacts between the United Nations and Pyongyang, and to address the nuclear standoff, Agence France-Presse reported (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, Jan. 31).
Elsewhere, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell was expected in Seoul this week for three days of bilateral discussions focused on urgent topics that include Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, South Korean Foreign Ministry officials told the Herald.
Campbell is set to meet with the South's top nuclear negotiator, Wi Sung-lac. The two men are expected to talk about strategies for restarting the six-nation talks as quickly as possible. The talks were last held more than a year ago (Kim Ji-hyun, Korea Herald II, Feb. 2).
North and South Korea today held talks at the North Korean border city of Kaesong on their shared industrial development project, only days after swapping gunfire near a contested sea boundary line, the Associated Press reported.
North Korea initiated last week's exchange when it fired dozens of rounds in the direction of its disputed western border. The Stalinist regime said it was only carrying out routine military training operations. Seoul reported sustaining no damages or injuries (Associated Press II/New York Times, Feb. 1).