After promising to be the last shipment, Yemen gets back Skud missiles

Yemen yesterday restored back 15 "Skud" missiles which were on the deck of the Northern Korea ship stopped by the Spanish and American naval forces on Tuesday at al-Arab Sea following intensive contacts between Sanaa which insisted to its right to have the shipment and Washington which showed care to maintain relations with Yemen, "the partner in the war against terrorism."

The spokesman for the White House said that the US issued recommendations to permit handing over the ship. He added that there is an authority ( according to the International Law) to intercept and inspect ( the ship), however, there is no clear authority to detain the Skud missile shipment from Northern Korea to Yemen and therefore the trade ship was released.

A Yemeni spokesman said that the US vice president stressed to the Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in a telephone call that "orders were given to permit this ship to head for Yemen." The US vice president continued that it was also announced that his country considered, following investigations on this matter, that the ship's shipment is "legitimate." A statement issued by the Yemeni presidency said that Saleh stressed to the American officials that the arms deal "falls in the course of a legal deal finalized since a long time with north Korea and that it is for a defense purpose and not for an aggressive one and that it belongs to the Yemeni republic and its armed forces and will not go to any other side."

The statement added that the "Yemeni republic has always stressed its care to maintain security, stability and peace in the region and the world." Earlier in the day, the Yemeni foreign minister Abu Baker al-Qurabi summoned the American ambassador in Sanaa and handed him a strong complaint from his government over seizing the ship. The Yemeni minister also sent a similar complaint to the Spanish government.