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China-Japan-Koreas
U.S. to Confront, Not Board, North Korean Ships
2009-06-17
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration will order the Navy to hail and request permission to inspect North Korean ships at sea suspected of carrying arms or nuclear technology, but will not board them by force, senior administration officials said Monday.

The new effort to intercept North Korean ships, and track them to their next port, where Washington will press for the inspections they refused at sea, is part of what the officials described as "vigorous enforcement" of the United Nations Security Council resolution approved Friday.

The planned American action stops just short of the forced inspections that North Korea has said that it would regard as an act of war. Still, the administration's plans, if fully executed, would amount to the most confrontational approach taken by the United States in dealing with North Korea in years, and carries a risk of escalating tensions at a time when North Korea has been carrying out missile and nuclear tests.

In discussing President Obama's strategy on Monday, administration officials said that the United States would report any ship that refused inspection to the Security Council. While the Navy and American intelligence agencies continued to track the ship, the administration would mount a vigorous diplomatic effort to insist that the inspections be carried out by any country that allowed the vessel into port.
That might be clever. A Nork ship can't sail to Syria without stopping at certain intervals for fuel, etc. Wherever they stop, the authorities in that country have the right to inspect the ship. Takes the heat off us and at the very least makes the Norks wary of where their ships go.
The officials said that they believed that China, once a close cold war ally, would also enforce the new sanctions, which also require countries to refuse to refuel or resupply ships suspected of carrying out arms and nuclear technology. "China will implement the resolution earnestly," said Qin Gang, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said.
Nonsense, of course they won't. North Korea is their lap dog.
Posted by:Steve White

#12  ION BHARAT RAKSHAK [India] > STATEMENT: SOUTH KOREA TO REMAIN UNDER US NUCLEAR UMBRELLA.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2009-06-17 23:31  

#11  China, once a close cold war ally

Seriously, how does the media get away with howlers like this? An ally? A close ally? Detente, certainly - inspired by a common opposition to the Soviets and nothing more.

And as for China implementing the resolution - the journalist might want to look at a map, a North Korean ship won't need to refuel in China because they're RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER.
Posted by: gromky   2009-06-17 17:11  

#10  Lotsa room in cargo ships for extra fuel tanks.
Posted by: ed   2009-06-17 14:48  

#9  theoretically, the Norks could send along a tanker, couldnt they, and refuel at sea. Thats pretty costly for ordinary commerce though. It would pretty much mark a shipment as high priority.
Posted by: liberal hawk   2009-06-17 14:44  

#8  Steve W., suppose the fueling port says to the NORKS: "No boardee, no fuelee." I wonder what the range on the Nork ships is before they require fueling. I wonder what the UN Security Council resolution says. I don't see the UN having the cajones to deny fuel.
Posted by: JohnQC   2009-06-17 13:31  

#7  Mk48 "cyclone" can be pretty rough weather for any ship, especially a piece of junk Nork MS.
Posted by: OldSpook   2009-06-17 13:10  

#6  Folks, I don't think you see the subtle play here.

A Nork ship can't sail to Syria without stopping. They have fuel up somewhere, perhaps two or three times. Each time they do it's an opportunity for us to get the authorities at that port to do an inspection.

Now the port authorities don't have to listen to us. But perhaps we could, you know, 'persuade' them. And then it's India, or Yemen, or Bangladesh, or whoever, who's doing the inspecting.

It's subtle. It gives us options and introduces more uncertainty for the Norks -- will a given country let them fuel their ship without asking questions, or will they start opening packing crates?

I personally would prefer a Nork ship loaded with missile parts to disappear quietly at sea. Sorry Kimmie, but that was one hell of a cyclone, didn't you get the weather report? Too bad what happened to your ship.

But I don't see that happening just yet, so this is an interesting play, IF our State Department, CIA and National Security team will play the game hard.
Posted by: Steve White   2009-06-17 13:05  

#5  Anybody got a couple of attack subs they're not really using?
Posted by: mojo   2009-06-17 12:37  

#4  Go ahead, talk 'em to death! Every day in port costs the Nork shipping companies tens of thousands of dollars. Hold 'em up a couple of weeks, and whatever cargo they're carrying now becomes a liability, whether it's missile-related or not. Do this to every ship that leaves North Korea, and you'll bleed them to death.

Even a BAD policy can be turned to the good if you can find a way to turn it to your advantage.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2009-06-17 12:02  

#3  Mr. Capone, may we inspect your warehouse for contraband?

No. Now go away or I shall be forced to taunt you.
Posted by: ed   2009-06-17 12:00  

#2  In discussing President Obama's strategy on Monday, administration officials said that the United States would report any ship that refused inspection to the Security Council.

Some "strategy". Why even waste the time or the resources?
Posted by: tu3031   2009-06-17 11:35  

#1  The resolution authorizes nations to seek to stop suspect North Korean shipments on the high seas, but they do not authorize forcible boarding or inspections.

Nice little nuanced wording there. Seek out the enemy and request that he cooperates. Gum them to death. Brilliant. Just brilliant. We're becoming EUniks, thanks to the Big O.
Posted by: Alaska Paul in Thorne Bay, AK   2009-06-17 01:52  

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