Washington: In the first serious attempt to curb North Korean missile proliferation, a North Korean ship carrying 12 disassembled scud missiles bound for Yemen was boarded and seized by Spanish and United States military forces in the Arabian Sea, Pentagon and US Administration officials said.

The ship was stopped and boarded on December 10 about 965 kms East of Horn of Africa after closely tracked by the US intelligence, they said.

US intelligence satellites and Navy ships had been tracking the ship, the 'So San', since it left North Korea during the middle of November 2002.

"It was boarded early yesterday (December 10) South East of Yemen – far out to sea and so unquestionably in international waters", a US official said.

The decision to take over the ship was approved "at the highest levels of the Administration", he said.

The ship allegedly contained about a dozen short-to-medium range missiles, similar to the scud missiles used by Iraq in the Gulf war, the official said. It also contained missile parts.

A White House spokesman for national security issues said the US would enlist the help of US allies in the region to fashion its next move a decidedly diplomatic and possibly slow approach.

PTI