Washington: After announcing with great fanfare that Spanish and United States (US) naval ships had intercepted a ship bound for Yemen with North Korean missiles, the US meekly released the ship following a spirited protest by Yemen, supposedly an ally of the US in the war against terrorism.

"There is no provision under international law prohibiting Yemen from accepting delivery of missiles from North Korea," White House spokesman Arie Fleischer told reporters.

"While there is authority to stop and search, in this instance there is no clear authority to seize the shipment of Scud missiles from North Korea to Yemen and, therefore, the merchant vessel is being released."

Forces from the amphibious assault ship USS Nassau had been aboard the detained vessel in the Arabian Sea since December 10 awaiting orders on what to do with it and the weapons, Pentagon officials said.

The US decided on December 11 to let the missiles go to their destination, after Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakral-Kerbi summoned US Ambassador Edmund Hull to protest the seizure and ask for the return of the equipment which the Minister said was for "defensive purposes."

Secretary of State Colin Powell and Vice President Dick Cheney consulted quickly and decided to release the vessel, which came from the North Korean company Changgang Sinyong Corp. on which the Bush administration had imposed sanctions in August for selling Scud missile parts to Yemen.

The US authorities had asked Yemen last August why it bought the parts, according to two defence officials. The Arab country had apologized and promised not to do so again.

This time 15 Scud missiles fitted with explosive material and fuel were found aboard a ship that was stopped on December 9 by two Spanish vessels off the coast of Yemen, they said.

The Washington had feared that the ship carrying the weapons might be destined for a terrorist state.

But the destination turned out to be Yemen whose government is co-operating with the US in the war against terrorism.

PTI