Nations tracking the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) ships should muster "ample evidence and proper cause" before seeking to check their cargo, China said yesterday, denying any direct knowledge of a DPRK vessel passing near its coast.

China backed a UN Security Council resolution condemning the DPRK's nuclear test on May 25 and calling on nations to enforce a ban on its arm exports. But China has also warned against enforced boarding of DPRK vessels, and Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang stressed that caution.

"This is a complex and sensitive issue," Qin told a news conference when asked about enforcing the resolution.

"China will strictly observe the relevant Security Council resolution. We believe ship inspections should be enforced according to relevant international and domestic law, and one should have ample evidence and proper cause."

The United States navy has been tracking a DPRK ship that the Republic of Korea's (ROK) news reports have said may be headed to Myanmar, possibly carrying illicit arms.

US officials have declined to say what the ship, the Kang Nam, may be carrying. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, has stressed the UN resolution would allow the US Navy to search a ship only with its flag country's consent.

Qin denied any official knowledge of the Kang Nam, which earlier reports said passed through seas near China.

"We are aware only of the reports about this, and do not have information at hand about the ship or its destination," said Qin. "We have no understanding of where this ship came from, where it's headed and what cargo it's carrying," he added.

China worries pressure on Pyongyang could incite more tensions and destabilize the Korean Peninsula.

Chinese and US defense officials are likely to discuss the DPRK nuclear dispute in two days of talks in Beijing that started yesterday, Qin said.

The Kang Nam is the first DPRK ship to be monitored under the new UN resolution, adopted this month.

It calls upon – but does not order – UN member states to inspect cargo to and from the DPRK if there are grounds to believe it contains banned materials. But it must first get the consent of the nation whose flag the ship is flying – in this case, the DPRK's.

Interception unlikely

The Kang Nam, accused of transporting illicit goods in the past, is believed to be carrying banned small arms to Myanmar, a ROK intelligence official said on Monday.

However, analysts say a high-seas interception – a move the DPRK has said it would consider an act of war – is unlikely.

The DPRK is unlikely to allow any inspection of its cargo, said Hong Hyun-ik, an analyst at the Sejong Institute think tank outside Seoul.

If Pyongyang refuses, authorities must direct the vessel to a port. UN members have been ordered not to provided suspected ships with services such as fuel.

Singapore, the world's busiest port and a top refueling center, said officials would "act appropriately" if asked to confront a DPRK ship believed to be carrying banned cargo.

"Singapore takes seriously the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, their means of delivery and related materials," a Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman said yesterday on condition of anonymity according to ministry policy. "If the allegation is true, Singapore will act appropriately."

The ROK broadcaster YTN said the ship was traveling in waters 370 km southeast of Shanghai yesterday afternoon at a speed of about 10 knots (18.5 km per hour).

The Kang Nam is expected to dock at Myanmar's Thilawa port, some 30 km south of Yangon, in the next few days, a port official was cited as saying. 

(China Daily June 24, 2009)