N Korea condemns US 'piracy'

The So San also carried chemicals and spare parts

North Korea has accused the United States of piracy after it stopped a cargo ship carrying weapons to Yemen on Tuesday.

Troops were lowered onto the ship from a helicopter

The intercepted North Korean ship was allowed to continue its journey after Yemen assured the US that the 15 Scud missiles found on board were for defensive purposes only.

The action, carried out by the Spanish Navy, "wantonly violated the routine trade between countries" said a statement issued by the North Korean Foreign Ministry.

The statement came a day after Pyongyang angered the US by announcing it was reactivating a nuclear power plant, mothballed under a 1994 agreement with the United States.

"The United states should apologise for its high-handed piracy committed against the DPRK's trading ship and duly compensate for all the mental and material damage done to the ship and its crew," said the statement.

The freighter So San is now expected to arrive at a Yemeni port later on Friday or on Saturday, according to a senior Yemeni Government official.

Tracking operation

The So San and its crew were detained for two days, after being intercepted by Spanish warships in the Arabian Sea.

Click here to see pictures of the Spanish operation

US intelligence had been tracking the boat closely before it was stopped and boarded about 960 kilometres (600 miles) east of the Horn of Africa.

The US said it wanted to find out why the missiles had been hidden under a cargo of concrete and why the So San was not flying a flag of identification.

Regional ally

The Scuds were purchased at a time of border tension between Yemen and its neighbours Saudi Arabia and Eritrea. Both disputes were later resolved.

Thousands of sacks of cement covered the weapons

Although Yemen was accused by the US of "harbouring terrorists" in the wake of the 11 September attacks on America, its government has co-operated in the war against terror.

However, there have been fears that military hardware delivered to the country could fall into the hands of radical Islamic groups operating there.

The US is also deeply concerned about North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear programmes, which it regards as a threat to world peace.

Washington imposed sanctions on North Korea after it supplied Yemen with Scud missiles in 1999-2000, in a deal which Yemen vigorously defended at the time.

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