Non-Subscriber ExtractNorth Korean arms cache seized in Thailand |
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14 December 2009
Thai police officers and soldiers surround a suspect foreign-registered cargo plane to make a search at Don Muang airport in Bangkok, Thailand, 12 December 2009. (PA)
Five crew members were arrested along with the seizure, four from Kazakhstan and one from Belarus. They were charged on 14 December with illegal possession of weapons and detained for 12 further days, although they deny the charges.
Few details are currently available about the contents or the cargo's destination. Items found at the time of going to press included rocket-propelled grenades, man-portable surface-to-air missile launchers and various small-arms. North Korea manufactures the Type 58 and Type 68 7.62 mm assault rifles, based on Kalashnikov variants, and a variant of China's HN-5 surface-to-air missile, itself based on the Strela-2 (SA-7) platform. Pyongyang could also sell a variety of surplus Soviet-era equipment.