SEOUL (South Korea) - AN AMERICAN destroyer was tailing a North Korean ship suspected of transporting weapons toward Myanmar, as anticipation mounted on Wednesday that the North could soon test-fire short- or medium-range missiles off its eastern coast.

The Kang Nam left the port of North Korean port of Nampo a week ago, and the destroyer USS John S. McCain is following as it sails off the Chinese coast.

The sailing sets up the first test of a new UN Security Council resolution that authorizes member states to inspect North Korean vessels suspected of carrying banned weapons or materials.

The sanctions are punishment for an underground nuclear test the North carried out last month in defiance of past resolutions. It's not clear exactly what the Kang Nam has on board, but it has transported illicit goods in the past.

The North has said it would consider any interception 'an act of war', with its main Rodong Sinmun newspaper warning on Tuesday the Korean peninsula was on the brink of a nuclear war.

A US official said last week that the American destroyer has no orders to intercept the ship, but experts say the vessel will need to stop to refuel soon on a 6,660km, two-week, sail to Myanmar. The resolution prohibits member states from providing such services to ships accused of bearing banned goods.

Nearby Singapore - the world's largest refuelling hub - says it will 'act appropriately' if the ship docks at its port with suspicious goods on board.

At most, Singapore may refuse to let the ship refuel, said Hong Hyun Ik, an analyst at the Sejong Institute think tank in South Korea. He also speculated that the Kang Nam may not have banned cargo on board, knowing the ship could be subject to scrutiny.

In the event that the American destroyer does ask to inspect the Kang Nam and North Korea refuses, the UN resolution states the ship must be directed to a port of Pyongyang's choosing.

It was not clear which port the ship would be taken to, though on Tuesday a Pentagon official said it was about 160 km north of the Taiwan Strait - close to both the Chinese and Taiwanese coasts. -- AP