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December 12, 2002
WASHINGTON -- Skirting a faceoff with Yemen, the United States on Wednesday let an intercepted shipment of North Korean missiles proceed to the Persian Gulf country after receiving assurances the Scuds would not be transferred elsewhere in the tense region.
The ship's release ended a sensitive standoff in the Arabian Sea, which borders regions like the Persian Gulf and Horn of Africa that have emerged as strategic theaters of Washington's antiterrorism campaign.
After a flurry of contacts between Yemeni officials, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell, both sides managed to save face.
Bush administration officials acknowledged that boarding the ship and taking charge of its cargo probably violated international law. But administration decisionmakers were guided by concern about an influx of weapons into the region just as the United States is considering force to disarm Iraq.
"We were very suspicious about the ship," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. Its name was obscured and it flew no flag, he said.
Once Spanish and U.S. inspectors climbed aboard, they found "irregularities in the cargo and the documentation and the Scuds were found on board," he said.
Powell said Yemen's President Ali Abdallah Salih offered assurance the shipment of Scuds would be the last weapons delivery from North Korea.
The secretary denounced North Korea as "one of the great proliferators on the face of the Earth." He said the United States has been trying to make the case that the Communist regime posed dangers. In January, President Bush cited it as part of an "axis of evil," with Iraq and Iran.
Powell said the good relationship between the United States and Yemen was one reason for permitting delivery of the Scuds. Bush administration officials have credited Yemen for cooperating in the war on terror.
Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., objected to returning the missiles to Yemen, saying that nation "has a questionable record that includes past support of terrorist organizations."
"With thousands of U.S. troops in the region and the possibility of more to come, this decision is ill-considered at best. Now we can only hope it does not come back to haunt us," Lieberman said.
-- Information from the Boston Globe was used in this report.