Yemen says it owns seized North Korean Scuds

Yemen today said it owns the Scud missiles and other sophisticated military equipment found on a North Korean ship off the tip of the Arabian peninsula.

Yemeni government officials told Gulf satellite TV station Al-Jazeera that the deal with North Korea for the missiles was completed several months ago.

The shipment was made public earlier this year and led to economic sanctions against North Korea, but not Yemen, in August.

The Bush administration decided not to sanction the Arab state because it supports US military and intelligence operations against al-Qaida.

The missile ship was intercepted by Spanish warships which fired warning shots near the vessel.

The 15 Scud missiles are now on their way to a US military base on the British Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia.