Panama announces an undeclared Cuban weapons cargo found on a North Korean ship is an “undoubted violation” of the UN’ arms embargo on Pyongyang.
A draft report by UN experts sent to Panama after the seizure of the ship in July confirmed a breach of sanctions, the ministry of public security said.
Two North Korean diplomats are in Panama to assist the ship’s 35 crew.
Cuba said it shipped the arms to North Korea for repair. It did not say why they were hidden under tonnes of sugar.
A source in the public security ministry said authorities had been given a first draft of the report compiled by UN sanctions panel experts, the AFP news agency reports.
The ship, the Chong Chon Gang, was seized on suspicion it was carrying drugs.
The vessel had been navigating the Panama Canal.
North Korean ship Chong Chon Gang was seized in Panama on suspicion it was carrying drugs
Officials found 25 containers of military hardware, including two Soviet-era MiG-21 fighter aircraft, air defense systems, missiles and command and control vehicles.
The statement from the Panamanian public security ministry was released after the North Korean diplomats – from the country’s mission in Havana – visited the crew members at a former military base.
They are being detained on suspicion of arms trafficking; an offence which carries a 12-year prison sentence.
The UN inspectors completed their work two weeks ago but are yet to present their official findings publicly.
The Chong Chon Gang left Russia’s far east on April 12 and travelled across the Pacific Ocean before entering the canal at the start of June, with Cuba as its stated destination.
The ship disappeared from satellite tracking systems after it left the Caribbean side of the canal, resurfacing on July 11.
Experts say this may indicate that the crew switched off the system that automatically communicates details of their location.
It was stopped near Manzanillo on the Atlantic side of the canal on July 15.
Under UN sanctions, North Korea is banned from weapons exports and the import of all but small arms.
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North Korea has reacted angrily to Swiss decision to block a deal to sell ski lifts to the secretive communist country.
The equipment – which included chair lifts and cable cars – was for the Masik ski resort project which is currently under construction.
But the Swiss government said last week the equipment constituted luxury goods and so was subject to UN sanctions.
North Korea’s Skiers’ Association said such equipment should not be banned.
The resort, it said in a statement, was aimed at giving North Koreans “highly civilized and happy living conditions and make them enjoy all blessings.
“Cableway equipment for the ski resort do not produce any rocket or nuclear weapon,” it added.
North Korea has reacted angrily to Swiss decision to block a deal to sell ski lifts to the secretive communist country
The Masik ski resort site was believed to be a pet project of leader Kim Jong-un, who reportedly skied when he attended secondary school in Bern under an assumed name.
It is also being viewed as a response to South Korea hosting the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.
Work on the site had been delayed by heavy rains and landslides, but Kim Jong-un wanted the resort to be finished by the end of the year.
The North Korean leader has repeatedly visited the site and promoted it as an attempt to enhance the lifestyle of the nation’s citizens.
But Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) labeled the resort a “prestigious propaganda project for the regime”.
“It is inconceivable that this resort will be used by the general public,” SECO spokeswoman Marie Avet said.
The ski lift deal with Swiss company Bartholet Maschinenbau, valued at more than $7 million, is reportedly the third to fall through due to sanctions.
Austrian and French manufacturers also turned down deals, citing political reasons.
Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli has announced his country has seized a North Korean-flagged ship carrying “undeclared military cargo”.
Ricardo Martinelli told local media that the ship, which was sailing from Cuba, contained suspected “sophisticated missile equipment”.
He posted a photo of what looked like a large green object inside a cargo container on his Twitter account.
Ricardo Martinelli said the ship, which was searched on its way into the Panama Canal, was being held for further investigation.
The ship was stopped near Manzanillo on the Atlantic side of the canal.
Ricardo Martinelli said the authorities were checking the ship for drugs when they found the suspected weapons in containers of brown sugar.
Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli said the North Korean ship, which was sailing from Cuba, contained suspected sophisticated missile equipment
“We’re going to keep unloading the ship and figure out exactly what was inside,” he told local media.
The 35-member crew have been detained, including the captain who the Panamanian president said tried to kill himself during the search.
Security Minister Jose Raul Mulino said the ship “aroused suspicion by the violent reaction of the captain and the crew”.
Under UN sanctions, North Korea is banned from weapons exports and the import of all but small arms.
Sanctions were strengthened after its third nuclear test on February 12, including measures increasing states’ authority to inspect suspicious cargo.
In recent years a number of North Korean ships have been searched under the UN sanctions.
In July 2009 a North Korean ship heading to Burma was tracked by the US navy on suspicion of transporting weapons and subsequently turned around.
North Korea has an ongoing missile development programme.
In December it launched what it called a three-stage rocket to put a satellite into space. The move was condemned by the United Nations as a banned test of missile technology.
Experts believe the communist state is working towards developing a nuclear warhead small enough to put on a long-range missile.
