The Thai government may report its probe to the UN into the recent seizure of a cargo plane laden with illegal weaponry from North Korea later in 2009, Britain's envoy to the U.N. said on Saturday.
An Il-76 cargo plane carrying 35 tons of weaponry was seized during refueling at Bangkok's Don Muang airport on December 12. Officials said the weapons included portable anti-aircraft missile systems and spare parts for ground-to-air missiles shipped from N. Korea to an unknown destination.
"I've spoken to the Thai ambassador... I would anticipate that the Thai government will be writing to the Security Council and getting in contact with the sanctions committee very shortly, ...probably, by the end of the year," Ambasador Mark Lyall Grant said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
He said Thailand's plans showed that the sanctions the UN Security Council took against Pyongyang in the summer were having effect.
"I think it's a good example of the measures that we took in the summer having some impact that third countries now are taking actions to prevent this illegal flow of weapons," Mark Lyall said.
In early June, the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed a resolution imposing further sanctions on North Korea for its new missile tests and an underground nuclear test.
However, the British diplomat said it was not yet clear if North Korea would be ready to rejoin the six-party talks.
The six-party talks came to a halt in April when Pyongyang pulled out of the negotiations in protest against the United Nations' condemnation of its missile tests.
UN, December 26 (RIA Novosti)
