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Cuba has said a North Korean cargo ship seized in Panama was loaded
at one of its ports with 10,000 tons of sugar and 240 tons of "obsolete
defensive weaponry".The Cuban foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that the Soviet-era weapons were being sent to North Korea for repair and included two anti-aircraft batteries, nine disassembled rockets, and two MiG-21 aircraft.
"The agreements Cuba has signed in these areas are based on our need to maintain our defensive capacity to protect national sovereignty," the statement said.
The Chong Chon Gang was detained on Tuesday after Panamanian authorities detected what appeared to be ballistic missiles and other arms, Ricardo Martinelli, the country's president, has said.
The crew rioted and the captain reportedly had a heart attack and then tried to commit suicide when the ship was boarded as it approached the Atalantic entrance to the Panama Canal.
Javier Caraballo, Panama's top anti-drugs prosecutor, said the cargo ship was en route to North Korea.
Suspicious cargo
The vessel's 35-man crew also rioted when police stepped aboard, according to Martinelli, who said the suspicious cargo was found within a massive consignment of sugar.
Martinelli said on Tuesday that the ship was violating United Nations resolutions against arms trafficking.
"The world needs to sit up and take note: you cannot go around shipping undeclared weapons of war through the Panama Canal," he told Radio Panama listeners.
"We had suspected this ship, which was coming from Cuba and headed to North Korea, might have drugs aboard so it was brought into port for search and inspection.
"When we started to unload the shipment of sugar we located containers that we believe to be sophisticated missile equipment, and that is not allowed."
US state department deputy spokesman Patrick Ventrell on Tuesday commended Panama's search and seizure of a North Korean-flaggedship traveling from Cuba to the Panama Canal and offered Washington's help if requested.
"The United States strongly supports Panama's decision to inspect the [North Korean] flagged vessel," said Ventrell.
Panamanian authorities said the ship was being held and that they had detained the crew members.
"The captain has tried to commit suicide, and the crew rioted," the president said of what happened moments after the raid. Martinelli said that the captain also had a heart attack.
Sanction-buster
The shipment could violate harsh UN arms sanctions on North Korea intended to halt its nuclear programme, and will likely worsen relations between Havana and Washington.
North Korea carried out its third nuclear weapons test in February and then threatened to attack the US.
The North has for decades had a programme to develop missiles of all types.
Last December, it successfully launched a three-stage rocket which placed a satellite in orbit.
It is unclear whether the North has the technology to fit a nuclear warhead on a missile.
http://www.aljazeera.com
17/7/13
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Panamá: descubren un barco que llevaba un cargamento de armas escondido bajo toneladas de azúcar....
ReplyDeleteEl buque, de bandera norcoreana, viajaba desde Cuba hacia el país asiático. Las autoridades lo detuvieron porque sospechaban que llevaba droga. El presidente de Panamá dijo que trasladaba un "equipo sofisticado de misiles".
Las autoridades de Panamá continúan inspeccionando un buque norcoreano, procedente de Cuba, en cuyas bodegas se encontró, escondido bajo toneladas de azúcar, un sistema de control de tiro de misiles antiaéreos de producción rusa.
En el barco había unos 220.000 quintales de azúcar, pero cuando "comenzamos a descargar el azúcar encontramos unos contenedores que presumimos tienen un equipo sofisticado de misiles y eso no está permitido", dijo el presidente Ricardo Martinelli, propietario de supermercados que desembarcó en política hace pocos años.
"Teníamos sospechas de que (el barco Chong Chon Gang) llevaba droga, por lo que lo trajimos a puerto y empezamos a verificar todo lo que estaba en el barco, que venía de Cuba e iba para Corea del Norte", precisó Martinelli.......http://www.clarin.com/mundo/Panama-descubren-norcoreano-presuntos-toneladas_0_956904655.html
16/7/13
Les 240 tonnes d'armes cubaines retrouvées au Panama devaient être réparées par la Corée du Nord.....
ReplyDeleteLes autorités cubaines ont confirmé mardi que des armes retrouvées à bord d'un navire nord-coréen arraisonné lundi à Panama lui appartenaient. Elles devaient être réparées et modernisées en Corée du Nord avant de revenir dans l'île.
Les autorités cubaines ont confirmé mardi que des armes retrouvées à bord d'un navire nord-coréen arraisonné lundi à Panama lui appartenaient et a indiqué qu'elles devaient être réparées avant de revenir dans l'île, tandis que les autorités panaméennes poursuivaient l'inspection du navire.
"A bord du navire concerné (le cargo Chong Chon Gang), étaient transportées 240 tonnes d'armes défensives obsolètes - deux missiles complets sol-air Volga et Pechora, neuf fusées en pièces détachées, deux avions de type Mig-21 et 15 moteurs pour ce type d'appareil-, toutes fabriquées au milieu du siècle passé et qui devaient être réparées et revenir dans notre pays", a indiqué un communiqué du ministère cubain des affaires étrangères lu à la télévision. .....http://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/monde/les-240-tonnes-d-armes-cubaines-retrouvees-au-panama-devaient-etre-reparees-par-la-coree-du-nord_1266975.html
17/7/13
Cuba says seized DPRK ship carries obsolete weapons...
ReplyDeleteHAVANA, July 16 (Xinhua) -- A cargo ship of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) seized in Panama was loaded at a Cuban port with 240 tons of "obsolete defensive weaponry," the Cuban Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
The ship, also loaded with 10,000 tons of sugar and the weapons such as two anti-aircraft missile batteries, nine disassembled rockets, two MiG-21 fighter jets, and 15 MiG-21 engines, were being sent back to the DPRK for repair, the ministry said in a statement.
The weapons, all built in the middle of the last century, were required "to maintain our defensive capacity to preserve national sovereignty," the statement said, adding that they would be returned to Cuba after repair.
"Cuba maintains its commitment to peace including nuclear disarmament and international law," it said.
Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli said on Monday that a DPRK-flagged cargo ship suspected of hiding missile equipment in a shipment of sugar from Cuba, was seized.
http://english.cntv.cn/20130717/103787.shtml
17/7/13
Β. Κορέα: Νόμιμο το φορτίο με τα κατασχεθέντα όπλα...
ReplyDeleteΗ Βόρεια Κορέα ανακοίνωσε την Τετάρτη πως το φορτίο με όπλα από την Κούβα, το οποίο εντοπίσθηκε σε βορειοκορεατικό φορτηγό πλοίο στον Παναμά βρισκόταν νόμιμα σ’ αυτό και απαίτησε να αφεθεί το πλοίο και το πλήρωμά του να συνεχίσουν το ταξίδι τους.
«Το φορτίο αυτό δεν περιέχει τίποτε περισσότερο από παρωχημένα όπλα τα οποία θα πρέπει να επιστρέψουν στην Κούβα μόλις θα έχουν εκσυγχρονισθεί στη χώρα μας, σύμφωνα με ένα νόμιμο συμβόλαιο», ανακοίνωσε το βορειοκορεατικό ΥΠΕΞ σε ανακοίνωσή του που μετέδωσε το κρατικό πρακτορείο ειδήσεων KCNA.....http://www.zougla.gr/kosmos/article/v-korea-nomimo-to-fortio-me-ta-katasxe8enta-opla
17/7/13
North Korea Calls On Panama To Release Crew Detained From Ship Containing Missile Components......
ReplyDeletePYONGYANG, North Korea -- North Korea's Foreign Ministry says Panama should release the crew detained in the apprehension of a freighter carrying missile components because no drugs or illegal cargo were aboard.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman, who was not named by the official Korean Central News Agency, says "The Panamanian investigation authorities rashly attacked and detained the captain and crewmen of the ship on the plea of `drug investigation' and searched its cargo but did not discover any drug."
Decades-old missile components were found on board.
North Korea said Wednesday "This cargo is nothing but aging weapons which (North Korea) are to send back to Cuba after overhauling them according to a legitimate contract."
North Korea says "The Panamanian authorities should take a step to let the apprehended crewmen and ship leave without delay."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/17/north-korea-panama-release-crew_n_3612376.html?utm_hp_ref=world
17/7/13
NK says ship was carrying 'aging weapons' under legitimate contract....
ReplyDeleteSEOUL, July 18 (Yonhap) -- North Korea denounced Panama Thursday for interdicting a North Korea-flagged ship on suspicion of drug transport, calling it a "fiction."
"The Panamanian investigation authorities rashly attacked and detained the captain and crewmen of the ship on the plea of 'drug investigation' and searched its cargo but did not discover any drug," a North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said, according to Pyongyang's official news agency, KCNA.
"Yet, they are justifying their violent action, taking issue with other kind of cargo aboard the ship," the spokesman added.
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2013/07/18/0200000000AEN20130718000200315.HTML
18/7/13 LOCAL TIME
EEUU ayudará a Panamá en la inspección del barco retenido y contactará con Cuba...Armamento bajo toneladas de azúcar....
ReplyDeleteEstados Unidos ha confirmado este miércoles que dará a Panamá la asistencia que le pidió para inspeccionar el barco norcoreano retenido en su territorio y aseguró que contactará con Cuba "muy pronto" para conversar sobre el armamento procedente de la isla hallado en el buque.
"Hemos recibido una petición de asistencia de las autoridades panameñas y estamos dispuestos a cooperar de la mejor forma posible", ha confirmado en rueda de prensa Marie Harf, portavoz del Departamento de Estado.
El Gobierno estadounidense ha informado además al cubano de que conversará "muy pronto con ellos sobre este barco", ha añadido la portavoz, sin dar más detalles.
El Departamento de Estado no espera que las tensiones sobre el barco norcoreano se traten durante las conversaciones sobre migración que reúnen este miércoles a representantes de EEUU y Cuba en Washington, ha asegurado Harf.
"El diálogo sobre migración tiene un conjunto de temas muy estructurados, y no esperamos que este otro asunto se trate en la reunión. Son dos conversaciones separadas", ha señalado.
El Gobierno cubano admitió en la noche del martes en una declaración que el barco de bandera norcoreana 'Chong Chon Gang' zarpó, en un fecha no precisada, de un puerto cubano rumbo a Corea del Norte con 240 toneladas métricas de armamento defensivo de la isla, aunque en estado "obsoleto", para ser "reparado y devuelto".
Armamento bajo toneladas de azúcar!!!!!.....http://www.elmundo.es/america/2013/07/17/estados_unidos/1374088054.html
17/7/13
Καταφεύγει στο Συμβούλιο Ασφαλείας ο Παναμάς....
ReplyDeleteΣτο Συμβούλιο Ασφαλείας του ΟΗΕ στράφηκαν οι Αρχές του Παναμά για το φορτίο απαρχαιωμένου στρατιωτικού εξοπλισμού που βρέθηκε σε πλοίο της Βορείου Κορέας, καλώντας σε διερεύνηση για το εάν η Πιονγιάνγκ έχει παραβεί τις κυρώσεις που της έχουν επιβάλει τα Ηνωμένα Έθνη.
Το φορτηγό πλοίο «Chong Chon Gang» προερχόταν από την Κούβα με προορισμό τη Βόρεια Κορέα. Οι Αρχές του Παναμά το σταμάτησαν και στο φορτίο βρήκαν αδήλωτο οπλισμό (ο έλεγχος φαίνεται ότι έγινε σε τεταμένο κλίμα, καθώς σύμφωνα με τους Παναμέζους αξιωματούχους ο καπετάνιος προσπάθησε μέχρι και να αυτοκτονήσει).
Η Κούβα επιβεβαίωσε πως στο πλοίο είχε φορτωθεί στρατιωτικός εξοπλισμός, τον οποίο χαρακτήρισε απαρχαιωμένο και ανέφερε πως στάλθηκε στη Βόρεια Κορέα για επισκευή. Το ίδιο αναφέρει και η Πιονγιάνγκ, η οποία ζητά την απελευθέρωση του πλοίου και του πληρώματος.
«Το ζήτημα θα παραπεμφθεί στο Συμβούλιο Ασφαλείας του ΟΗΕ, εκείνοι θα αποφασίσουν τι θα γίνει», ανέφερε ο υπουργός Ασφάλειας του Παναμά Χοσέ Ραούλ Μουλίνο. Αξιωματούχοι της κυβέρνησης της χώρας ανέφεραν πως πέντε επιθεωρητές του ΟΗΕ θα βρεθούν στις αρχές του Αυγούστου στον Παναμά για να επιθεωρήσουν το πλοίο.
http://www.zougla.gr/kosmos/article/katafevgi-sto-simvoulio-asfalias-o-oie
18/7/13
Cuba: le navire nord-coréen transportait aussi deux avions de chasse soviétiques....
ReplyDeleteLe navire nord-coréen, arraisonné par les autorités panaméennes alors qu'il quittait Cuba, ne transportait pas seulement des composants de missiles usagés mais aussi deux avions de chasse en état de marche.
Les autorités panaméennes ont découvert deux avions de chasse soviétiques MiG-21 à bord du navire nord-coréen intercepté ce mois-ci alors qu'il tentait de passer par le canal de Panama après son départ de Cuba.
Les avions supersoniques ont été trouvés à côté de missiles et autres pièces d'armement cachées dans une cargaison de sucre, ce qui pourrait constituer une violation des embargos sur la Corée du Nord décidés par l'ONU. Cuba a affirmé que la cargaison ne contient que des armes "obsolètes" que le pays communiste envoyait à son allié nord-coréen pour qu'elles soient rénovées puis renvoyées.
Les experts de l'ONU sur les sanctions ont prévu de se rendre à Panama pour inspecter la cargaison le 5 août.
"Apparemment ces avions étaient utilisés puisqu'ils contenaient du carburant", a déclaré le président Panaméen Ricardo Martinelli pendant une visite dans le port de Manzanillo, où le navire est en train d'être déchargé. L'équipage de 35 hommes du navire baptisé Chon Gang battant pavillon nord-coréen, a été arrêté et pourrait être accusé de trafic d'armes.
http://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/monde/cuba-le-navire-nord-coreen-transportait-aussi-deux-avions-de-chasse-sovietiques_1268087.html
22/7/13
Fracht aus Kuba...Kampfjets für Nordkorea stammen aus Sowjet-Zeit...
ReplyDeleteAn Bord des in Panama aufgebrachten nordkoreanischen Frachters wurden zwei alte MiG-Überschalljets gefunden. Die Flugzeuge waren offenbar noch kurz zuvor in Benutzung: Sie waren betankt.
Die beiden Kampfflugzeuge, die Panamas Behörden an Bord des aufgebrachten nordkoreanischen Frachters entdeckt haben, stammen aus Sowjet-Zeiten.
Neben den beiden MiG-21-Überschalljets seien versteckt zwischen Zuckerladungen auch Batterien für Flugabwehrraketen und andere Waffenteile auf dem Schiff entdeckt worden, sagte Panamas Präsident Ricardo Martinelli am Sonntag (Ortszeit) bei einem Besuch im Hafen von Manzanillo, wo der Frachter derzeit inspiziert wird. Demnach waren die Flugkörper zuvor "in Benutzung gewesen, da sie Treibstoff enthielten".
Der Frachter "Chong Chon Gang" war vor eineinhalb Wochen von Kuba kommend im Panamakanal gestoppt worden. Die 35-köpfige Besatzung war festgenommen worden.
UN-Inspektoren kommen zur Prüfung....http://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article118259631/Kampfjets-fuer-Nordkorea-stammen-aus-Sowjet-Zeit.html
22/7/13
Inicia inspección del buque norcoreano que transportaba armas obsoletas de Cuba...
ReplyDeleteExpertos del Comité de Sanciones del Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU llegaron a Panamá para inspeccionar al mercante norcoreano detenido en ese país hace 27 días con un armamento bélico que Cuba calificó de obsoleto. La embaración también transportaba toneladas de azúcar......http://www.telesurtv.net/articulos/2013/08/13/inicia-en-panama-inspeccion-del-buque-norcoreano-que-transportaba-armas-proveniente-de-cuba-375.html
13/8/13
Panama: North Korea arms shipment broke UN sanctions....
ReplyDeleteWeapons on freighter seized after leaving Cuba were 'without a doubt' being traded in breach of embargo, ministry says.
A preliminary report by a team of United Nations experts has determined that a North Korean cargo ship seized in Panama for carrying weapons violated sanctions, the Panamanian government has said.
A security ministry statement said the Cuban weapons found under sacks of sugar, including equipment for launching missiles, "without a doubt" violated sanctions meant to halt sophisticated arms sales to North Korea.
The ministry did not give further details and no one at the ministry answered phone calls from the Associated Press seeking comment.
The statement comes a day after the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute gave a similar assessment that it said was based on photographs and reports from Panamanian and UN authorities.
A UN panel of experts monitoring sanctions against North Korea visited Panama in mid-August to investigate the arms seizure. Its report has yet to be made public.
After the seizure Cuba said the cargo included "obsolete defensive weapons" including two MiG-21 jet aircraft and 15 motors, nine missiles in parts and two anti-aircraft systems that were being shipped to North Korea "to be repaired and returned".
North Korea said it had a "legitimate contract" to overhaul "ageing weapons" to be sent back to Cuba.
UN sanctions state that member states must prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of all arms and materiel to North Korea, and related spare parts, except for small arms and light weapons.....http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/29/panama-north-korea-ship-sanctions
29/8/13
Panama to send detained North Korean crew, ship home: minister....
ReplyDelete(Reuters) - The North Korean crew and ship detained in Panama for smuggling Cuban weapons three months ago will soon be returned to the reclusive Asian nation, Panama's foreign minister said Thursday.
The crew's return would mark the end of a bizarre chapter between the three countries that provoked international controversy after the ship was seized in July for smuggling military-style arms under 10,000 tons of sugar.
Repairs to the ship are nearly completed so the crew can sail back in the same vessel, Foreign Minister Fernando Nunez Fabrega told Reuters.
While the U.N. Security Council has yet to decide on penalties against Cuba, given a 7-year-old ban against arms transfers to North Korea due to the country's nuclear weapons program, the arms will likely be sold or given away, Nunez Fabrega added.
In July, the North Korean crew sabotaged its electrical system and bilge pumps after Panamanian investigators stopped the ship near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal on suspicion it was carrying drugs after leaving Cuba.
The North Korean flagged ship, known as the Chong Chon Gang, will be returned after the vessel's owner formally signs off on the plan, Nunez Fabrega said.
Panama has issued visas for two North Korean diplomats to arrive shortly and complete the procedure.
Meanwhile, 33 of the 35 crew members, held at a former U.S. army base on charges of threatening Panama's security, "appear to be ignorant of what was in the cargo", Nunez Fabrega said.
"As a result, if the Attorney General determines they are not criminally responsible for their actions, they cannot be prosecuted," he said.
Both the captain, who tried to slit his throat after Panamanian investigators seized the ship, and his deputy consistently refused to give statements during their detention, officials said. As a result, they might still face trial.
The whole crew refused efforts to put them in contact with their families, said Nunez Fabrega.
"Their families in North Korea must think they sunk with the boat," he said.
After the ship was seized, Havana requested that Panama release it, claiming the vessel carried only the sugar cargo as a donation to the people of North Korea.
But once the arms were discovered beneath the sugar, the Cuban government acknowledged it was sending "obsolete" Soviet-era weapons, including two MiG jets, 15 MiG engines and nine anti-aircraft missiles, to be repaired in North Korea and returned.
An analysis by 38 North, a website run by the U.S.-Korea Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Maryland, found the weapons shipment was larger than Cuba acknowledged and that many of the weapons were in "mint condition".
The analysis concluded the arms were intended for North Korea's own use.
Inspections of the equipment show they were "obviously not obsolete" as Cuba maintained, said Nunez Fabrega.
"One of the jets had kerosene in them, showing it was recently used," he said. "Of the 15 jet engines, 10 were in immaculate condition."
Since then, Panama has had "zero" communication with Havana, although it made at least four attempts. Havana also canceled a scheduled meeting between government officials from both countries at the United Nations last month.
"It was like talking to a brick wall," Nunez Fabrega said.
A six-member U.N. team inspected the weapons in August but still seeks answers from Cuba about the shipment to provide a U.N. sanctions committee a full report.
(Reporting by Lomi Kriel; Editing by David Alire Garcia, Simon Gardner and Ken Wills)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/18/us-panama-northkorea-ship-idUSBRE99H04A20131018?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
18/0/13
Panama: North Korea Ship Can Leave, But Status of Crew Uncertain....
ReplyDeleteA Panamanian prosecutor says a North Korean ship detained for allegedly smuggling Cuban weapons is free to go, but says no decision has been made about the 35 crew members, contrary to earlier reports.
Prosecutor Nahaniel Murgas told reporters late Wednesday that his office has an application requesting a series of measures in regard to the crew members, but no decisions yet.
Murgas said the North Korean vessel is free to go, but may not leave the country without paying penalty fines owed to the Panama Canal Authority.
Earlier Wednesday Murgas had said only the ship's captain, first mate, and a Korean official on board, would be held to face charges of arms trafficking.
The North Korean ship Chong Chon Gang and its crew were seized in July on suspicion it was carrying drugs. But a search turned up Cuban weapons, including two fighter jets, hidden beneath a shipment of sugar.
Panama says the shipment violated an international arms embargo against North Korea.
Both Havana and Pyongyang say the weapons were obsolete and were being sent to North Korea for repair before being shipped back to Cuba.
But officials have not explained why the weapons were hidden under sacks of sugar.
http://www.voanews.com/content/panama-north-korea-ship-can-leave-but-status-of-crew-uncertain/1799340.html
28/11/13
Panama to release 32 crew members of seized North Korean ship...
DeletePanama has ordered the release of 32 crew members of a North Korean ship seized six months ago in the Panama Canal, carrying Cuban weapons.
The captain and two other crew members will remain in detention as they are facing weapons trafficking charges.
Cuba said that the Soviet-era jet planes and weapons were being taken to North Korea to be repaired.
But the United Nations says there this was a breach of international sanctions against North Korea.
The Panamanian authorities said that taking the cargo through the canal endangered the country's internal security.
Earlier this month, the ship's owners agreed to pay $670,000 (£400,000) to have the vessel released...............http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-25972782
30/1/14
Panama says North Korea ship in arms case paid fine, free to go...
Delete(Reuters) - A North Korean ship detained near the Panama Canal for holding Cuban weapons is free to go after the ship's representatives on Saturday paid a $693,333 fine to the Panama Canal Authority, the authority said in a statement.
The return of the Chong Chon Gang to North Korea would end part of a bizarre case involving the three countries that provoked international controversy.
The ship was seized in July for smuggling Soviet-era arms, including two MiG-21 aircraft, under 10,000 tons of sugar......................http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/08/us-panama-ship-idUSBREA170SN20140208?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
8/2/14