Thai customs officials said today that they had intercepted a North Korean cargo plane loaded with 35 tons (31 Mg) of “heavy weapons”. The Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft, registered in Belarus, was stopped at Bangkok’s Don Muang airport, after a tip from the US government. The crew of four North Korean nationals (who have dual citizenship with Kazakhstan) and one Belarusian were arrested on site.
Thai PM Abhisit Vejjajiva said to The Times: “They committed two crimes: firstly they gave false information about their cargo, and secondly that cargo was found to be weapons”. North Korea is banned from exporting or importing weapons under UN Security Council resolution 1874. There is no comment at this time from the North Korean government.
