Thailand may deport crew of North Korea arms plane

The crew of a plane carrying 35 tonnes of missile parts and other illegal weapons from North Korea may be released rather than face charges in Thailand where they were arrested, a senior Thai official said on Wednesday.                                           

Thailand was not opposed to deporting the five-man crew as requested by their home countries, Kazakhstan and Belarus, deputy prime minister Suthep Thaugsuban told Reuters, adding that the Thai attorney general's office would make a final decision.                                           

The case has been shrouded in secrecy since the plane and the weapons were impounded and its crew arrested at Bangkok''s second-biggest airport on December 11.

The shipment was in breach of a UN Security Council resolution introduced last June banning weapons sales by communist North Korea in response to its nuclear and long-range missile tests.   

"The government is of the opinion that for the security of Thailand and good relations with (these) countries, we do not object to this," Suthep said in an interview.

"We are looking at Thailand's best interest. We do not want to have too many problems with anyone," he said. He said Thailand was awaiting guidance from the United Nations on what to do with the weapons.                                           

A confidential report by the Thai authorities sent to the UN Security Council and seen by Reuters on Saturday said the cargo included rockets, fuses, rocket launchers and rocket-propelled grenades bound for Iran.                                           

A high-ranking Thai security official, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case, in December told Reuters the weapons were headed for Iran and may have included parts for a Taepodong-2 long-range missile.

A Western diplomat, however, cast doubt on the presence of Taepodong-2.                                           

Thai law enforcement agencies, normally keen to publicise high-profile seizures or arrests, have been reluctant to comment on the case and some security officials have warned the seizure could threaten

Thailand's national security and make the country a target for terrorists. The crew members have repeatedly denied knowledge of the weapons or where they were headed. Their home countries sent a request to the Thai Foreign Ministry to send the men home.                                           

The crewmen said the plane, which made an emergency landing in Bangkok, was en route to Sri Lanka and the Middle East.

Thailand has repeatedly postponed a decision to indict the men. US lawmakers are concerned about North Korea''s close missile cooperation with Iran, which Washington suspects is seeking to build nuclear weapons.                                           

Arms are a vital export item estimated to earn North Korea more than $1 billion a year. Its biggest arms sales come from ballistic missiles, with Myanmar, Iran and Middle Eastern states among their customers, US officials say.