In the first serious attempt to curb North Korean missile proliferation, a ship carrying 12 disassembled Scud missiles bound for Yemen was boarded and seized by Spanish and US military forces on Tuesday in international waters off the coast of Yemen.
A US official said the So San, which was stopped and boarded yesterday about 965 kms east of Horn of Africa, had been closely tracked by US intelligence satellites and Navy ships since it left North Korea during the middle of last month.
"It was boarded early yesterday southeast of Yemen--far out to sea and so unquestionably in international waters", the official said. "The decision to take over the ship, was approved "at the highest levels of the Administration", he said.
The ship allegedly contained about a dozen short- to medium range missiles, similar to the scud missiles used by Iraq in the Gulf war, and missile parts, he added.