THE US/YEMEN: The United States reluctantly handed over a boatload of Scud missiles to Yemen yesterday after the Yemeni government promised the weapons would not end up in the hands of terrorists.
Following high-level talks between the two governments, the US navy was ordered by Washington to release the unflagged cargo ship, which was carrying the Scuds from North Korea when it was stopped by two Spanish warships on Monday in the Arabian Sea and searched.
US concerns about the shipment centred on fears the Scuds could be mounted with warheads filled with chemical, biological or nuclear materials by Iraq or another rogue state or terrorist organisation.
The Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, said Washington released the ship after getting assurances directly from Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh that "this was the last of a group of shipments that go back some years and had been contracted for some years ago, \ this would be the end of it".
Both Mr Powell and Vice-President Dick Cheney spoke to Mr Saleh about the Scuds.
"We had assurance that these missiles were for Yemeni defensive purposes and under no circumstances would they be going anywhere else," Mr Powell said.
"On that basis . . . a little while ago we directed the ship to continue to its destination.
And I conveyed that to the President of Yemen just a little while ago," he said.
Yemen said the Scuds were destined for its army and had demanded them back. The Foreign Minister, Mr Abu-bakr al-Qerbi, said they were needed to "protect and defend" Yemen's territory.
The North Korean shipment was believed to contain 15 Scud missiles, 15 conventional warheads and 85 drums of unidentified chemicals, found hidden under cement bags on the ship. Spain called in the US navy for help after finding the weapons.
White House spokesman Mr Ari Fleischer called the search a success but lamented that international law did not prevent the shipment of Scuds. The ship had been tracked for weeks by US intelligence since it left North Korea.
"We have looked at this matter thoroughly. There is no provision under international law prohibiting Yemen from accepting delivery of missiles from North Korea," he said.
"While there is authority to stop and search, in this instance there is no authority to seize a shipment of Scud missiles from North Korea to Yemen and therefore the merchant vessel is being released."
The US would still seek to answer why the missiles were hidden inside the ship and why the ship was not flying a flag of identification. But the fact that they took those steps was "not a violation of anything", Mr Fleischer said.
The shipment renewed proliferation concerns about the Stalinist government of North Korea, already under fire from the United States, South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and other countries for a nuclear weapons programme.
"This just shows again that North Korea is one of the large proliferators of weapons in the world. They make a lot of money out of it. And here they are obviously sending those missiles for money to a volatile region of the world," said Republican Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee. - (Reuters)