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14 April 2007
ADDIS ABABA, April 13 (Reuters) - Ethiopia denied claims on Friday that it bought arms from North Korea in a violation of a U.N. Security Council sanctions resolution, but said it received items for its "military industry" from the Asian nation.
Citing unnamed U.S. officials, the New York Times said last week the Bush administration had allowed Ethiopia, Washington's top anti-terrorism ally in the Horn of Africa, to complete a secret arms purchase from Pyongyang.
But the Ethiopian foreign ministry dismissed the report, saying it contained "erroneous and misleading information".
"Ethiopia did not purchase arms or any other item covered by Resolution 1718 under the contractual agreement with North Korea," the ministry said in a statement.
It said a shipment of "various items required by the military industry in Ethiopia" took place on Jan. 22.
"This shipment contained spare parts for machinery and engineering equipment and raw material for the making of assorted ammunition for small arms," the statement said.
According to the Times report, U.S. intelligence agencies said in late January an Ethiopian cargo ship that was probably carrying tank parts and other military equipment had left a North Korean port.
An Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesman said the military items had not been intended for its operation in Somalia, where its soldiers are fighting for the interim government.
He said the order had been made in June 2006, long before the start of the conflict, which spawned a two-week war between the Ethiopian-backed Somali government and Islamist fighters in late December.
"The United States Embassy in Addis Ababa might have been aware of Ethiopia's importation of the said cargo from North Korea. But the fact is that the content of the cargo did not violate Resolution 1718," the statement said.
Ethiopia said it had taken almost a week to respond to the article because it needed time to check its facts with various government ministries.