U.S.-Mongolia Shipboarding Pact

The United States has signed a shipboarding pact with Mongolia which allows Mongolian ships to be boarded and searched if they are suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction. Since Mongolia is landlocked and calls the Gobi Desert home, the pact might seem unnecessary. However,

[I]ts tiny merchant marine is recognized as one of 32 "flag of convenience" countries by international maritime authorities.

The U.S.-Mongolia shipboarding pact, the eighth signed between the United States and usually coastal or island nations, is designed to cover those Mongolian-flagged ships in international waters that might be used by other countries, notably North Korea, to disguise cargos of illegal weaponry, U.S. officials said.

Makes sense to me.