North Korea Demands That the USA Pay Compensation for Detaining the Swosan in the Arabian Sea

North Korea has demanded compensation from the United States for detaining the Sosan in the Arabian sea last December that was carrying conventional war heads to Yemen, reads the central North Korean newspaper Nodon Sinmun's commentary.

"If the USA has any shame, it should apologise for this act of piracy that encroaches on the republic's sovereignty and compensate for the psychological and material damage done to the crew-members of the vessel," the Central Committee of the Korean Labour Party emphasized.

The newspaper forecasts that if the USA ignores the demand and provokes similar acts, the North Korean army will respond duly. Nodon Sinmun did not elaborates on specific measures Pyongyang intends to take.

The North Korean vessel Sosan under the Cambodian flag carried 15 Scud-class missiles to Yemen in mid-December 2002. The vessel was detained in the Arabian Sea by the Spanish Navy and was handed over to the USA as suspicion arouse that the missiles were intended for Iraq. Then it was found out the Yemen Army had purchased the missiles in North Korea under a commercial contract for Yemen. The vessel was released and reached Yemen but the USA decided to further monitor the vessel.