To ask Her Majesty's Government which British naval assets are available in support of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874, calling for the search of North Korean ships suspected of carrying prohibited cargo. [HL4612]

UNSCR 1874 does not authorise use of force to compel a ship's Master to submit to an inspection either with or without flag state permission. A warship can conduct a hail and query interception—to ask questions or even make assertions. However we do not currently intend to use British naval assets to conduct interdiction on the high seas in support of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874 and although we will continue to keep the situation under review we have made no assessment of availability at this stage.