THE TENSION: Wire: Destroyer USS John S McCain to Intercept North Korean Ship

In this 2008 file photo, the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) operates with ships from the Indian navy and Japan Maritime Self Defense Force in formation in Tokyo Bay. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist John L. Beeman.)

Off the Wire:

EDITOR'S NOTE: USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) is named after John S. McCain, Jr. and John S. McCain, Sr., both Admirals in the United States Navy. They are respectively the father and grandfather of John S. McCain III, U.S. Senator representing Arizona and former Naval aviator Captain who endured five and a half years as a POW in the Vietnam War.

WASHINGTON, June 19, 2009 -- Newswire services reported this morning that the U.S. military is planning to intercept a flagged North Korean ship suspected of proliferating weapons material in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution passed last Friday, according to FOX News.

Fox News noted the following details:

The USS John McCain, a navy destroyer, will intercept the ship Kang Nam as soon as it leaves the vicinity off the coast of China, according to a senior U.S. defense official. The order to inderdict has not been given yet, but the ship is getting into position.

The ship left a port in North Korea Wednesday and appears to be heading toward Singapore, according to a senior U.S. military source. The vessel, which the military has been tracking since its departure, could be carrying weaponry, missile parts or nuclear materials, a violation of U.N. Resolution 1874, which put sanctions in place against Pyongyang.