Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The United States has intercepted a North Korean tanker loaded with oil from Libya.

The Defense Department said the U.S. Navy stopped and boarded the North Korean ship, called Morning Glory, on March 17.

The Pentagon said the interception, approved by President Barack Obama, was conducted at the request of Libya and the Republic of Cyprus.

“The Morning Glory will be underway soon to a port in Libya with a team of sailors from the USS Stout embarked,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.

“The sailors will be supervising the transit.”

The U.S. interception, located southeast of Cyprus, took place after the Libyan Navy failed to stop Morning Glory — reportedly owned by an Egyptian company — from loading with 234,000 barrels of oil from the port of Sidra.

The Pentagon said the operation by Navy SEALs did not result in any injuries aboard Morning Glory, seized earlier in March by three Libyans.

  John Kirby, Morning Glory, redirect it back to Libya, U.S. Navy SEALs seize N. Korean tanker