US seeks alliance to block arms exports by N Korea, Iran

The report by Asahi Shimbun follows allegations that the United States may scuttle an international project to build light-water reactors in North Korea, a deal contingent on the Stalinist state's adherence to a pact freezing its nuclear arms programme.

North Korea publicly declared this month it was seeking nuclear weapons.

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A senior US administration official said Washington would help establish a "voluntary alliance" of countries that would boost inspections of ships and aircraft against the hardware shipments, the Japanese daily said.

Leaders of the 11-country bloc are the United States, Japan and Australia, which met in Madrid on June 12 to plot strategies to thwart the spread of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons and missile components, the influential daily quoted an unidentified official as saying.

Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain have confirmed they would make best use of existing laws to intercept such exports, the official said.

The countries were to meet July 9-10 in Australia to plan better cooperation in tracking the shipments.

China and Russia, both with close links to North Korea, were to be consulted by the United States in an effort to pursue "stronger action," based on a UN resolution, to halt weapons exports, the official said.

In December, the Spanish navy stopped and searched a suspected North Korean freighter in the Mediterranean found to be carrying 15 North Korean Scud missiles to Yemen, but US forces had no legal right to seize the cargo as the ship was intercepted in international waters.