The MV Mu San in Port Blair. (AP)

Port Blair, Aug. 10 (Reuters): Indian authorities were inspecting a North Korean ship detained in the Bay of Bengal for nuclear material or fuel, officials said today, the latest sign of the international noose tightening around the communist-ruled nation.

A preliminary investigation by a team of nuclear scientists failed to detect any radioactive presence on board the MV Mu San carrying a huge sugar consignment, Ashok Chand, a police officer in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, said.

“There will be more checking today and we will open the hatch to check the entire consignment for any radioactive material,” Chand said.

UN member states are authorised to inspect North Korean sea, air and land cargo, and seize and destroy any goods transported in violation of a Security Council resolution in June following the North’s nuclear tests.

Indian officials said they were trying to find whether the MV Mu San was anywhere near Myanmar, which is suspected to be seeking help from North Korea to build a nuclear reactor.