Kazakhstan is checking information on a cargo plane full of North Korean weapons detained in Thailand after an emergency landing at Bangkok airport, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said on Sunday, RIA Novosti reported.
Thai authorities on Saturday seized about 40 tons of weapons from an Il-76 cargo plane they said had come from North Korea after it landed for refueling at Bangkok's Don Muang airport, and arrested its five crew members, including four Kazakh nationals. Western media reported that the plane was registered in Kazakhstan.
"We can neither confirm nor reject this information so far. We are currently clarifying the circumstances of the incident through diplomatic channels, and the possibility of the aircraft's affiliation with Kazakh air companies and the nationality of its crew," Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman Ilyas Omarov told RIA Novosti.
The aircraft's weapons arsenal included missiles and rocket-propelled grenades. Earlier media reports said the plane was registered in Georgia.
Thai police said that the plane was bound for a Middle East country.