Australia offers ship for N Korea sanctions

Canberra, Oct 23: Australia is ready to send one of its warships to help enforce UN sanctions against North Korea in response to its recent nuclear test, Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said today.

Nelson told Australian television it was possible a navy ship would join international efforts to search vessels going in and out of North Korean waters to ensure they did not carry weapons material.

''It is possible, consistent with the United Nations resolution, that we may have one of our ships supporting the United Nations and international interdiction of ships that might be going in and out of North Korea with precursors or weapons of mass destruction,'' the minister said.

Australia, a staunch US ally, is part of the 66-member Proliferation Security Initiative, formed in 2003 to guard against proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Nelson's comments come a day after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wrapped up visits to Japan, South Korea, China and Russia to bolster support for UN sanctions against North Korea.

Japan, China and Russia were committed to inspecting suspicious cargo from North Korea, but South Korea was more cautious, wary of further destabilising the impoverished Stalinist state.

Reuters

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