Thai authorities on Saturday searched a Georgian cargo aircraft from Pyongyang during a refueling stop at Bangkok's Don Mueang Airport and found 35 tons of North Korean weapons aboard, including missiles and explosives, and arrested five crewmembers including the pilot. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Sunday the measure was based on Thai laws and the UN Resolution 1874. Some reports said the final destination of the plane was Pakistan, near whose border U.S. forces are engaged in a fierce battle against the Taliban.

The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1874 following North Korea's second nuclear test on May 25 banning all weapons-related transactions with the North. North Korea's attempted smuggling of weapons is a clear violation of the resolution and will inevitably lead to stronger sanctions against North Korea. In August, the United Arab Emirates seized a vessel laden with North Korean weapons, while another North Korean cargo ship, the Kangnam, was forced to return to its home port on its way to Myanmar after being tracked by the U.S. Navy.

North Korea is believed to have loaded the Georgian aircraft with missiles and explosives last Tuesday or Wednesday, just when U.S. special envoy on North Korea policy Stephen Bosworth was visiting Pyongyang. In other words, the North was busily selling weapons even as it was holding its first dialogue with the U.S. in a year. Pyongyang is seriously mistaken if it believes the resumption of dialogue with the U.S. signals an easing of surveillance of its arms dealings. Regardless of U.S.-North Korea talks, the international community is willing to enforce UN sanctions against. Indeed, the Georgian aircraft, which was scheduled to refuel in Sri Lanka, may have made an emergency landing in Thailand as a result of surveillance and tracking efforts by the international community.

Arms exports are North Korea's primary means of earning hard currency, but they cannot be the answer to feeding its people and reviving its ailing economy. South Korea, the U.S. and the international community have made it clear that they are willing to offer economic aid and support to North Korea if it abandons its nuclear weapons and missile programs. But the regime is not interested in saving North Korean lives. It is only interested in maintaining its grip on power and raising the money it needs to do that. That has become clear once again by the seizure of the Georgian cargo plane.