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The tragedy of North Korean m/v Chong Chongang 35 crew
Topic Started: 16 Jul 2013, 10:56 PM (230 Views)
skibboy
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The tragedy of North Korean m/v Chong Chongang 35 crew

July 16, 2013

North Korean freighter Chong Chongang was detained by Panama authorities during a routine drugs check on July 12 13.

US media reported, that the ship had aroused suspicion by the violent reaction of the captain and the crew.

All North Korean vessels are actually, under close scrutiny, Chong Chongang was en route from Cuba to North Korea, initially suspect in probable drugs or arms trafficking.

Some reports say master tried to commit suicide after vigorous attempts of 35 North Korean crew to prevent inspection failed.

Instead of drugs, authorities found items believed to be weapons, hidden in containers of brown sugar.

Freighter was taken to Colon port for offloading the cargo.

Violent reaction of the 35 crew and master’s attempt to commit suicide are explained by the risk of prosecution, after arms trafficking failed.

If they return to North Korea, they’re facing trial or something like that, for some them – surely for master – it will end in fire-squad, the rest will go to concentration camps, or prisons.

Even if they’d be kept in Panama or other country, if they say, reject to be repatriated to North Korea asking for political asylum, they have families and relatives as hostages.

Poor devils.

General cargo vessel Chong Chongang, IMO 7937317, dwt 13999, built 1977, flag North Korea, owner CHONGCHONGANG SHIPPING CO LTD, Pyongyang.

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North Korean Ship Detained in Panama Canal for Shipping Undeclared Weapons of War

BY REUTERS ON JULY 16, 2013 Posted Image

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North Korean container ship ''Chong Chon Gang'' docks at the Manzanillo International Container Terminal in Colon City July 16, 2013. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

By Lomi Kriel

PANAMA CITY, July 16 (Reuters) – Panama detained a North Korean-flagged ship headed to the Panama Canal from Cuba and said Tuesday it was carrying suspected missile equipment hidden under tons of brown sugar, after a standoff in which the ship’s captain tried to commit suicide.

President Ricardo Martinelli said the undeclared weapons were detected when Panamanian authorities stopped the ship, suspecting it was carrying drugs.

“We found containers which presumably contain sophisticated missile equipment. That is not allowed. The Panama canal is a canal of peace, not war,” he told Panamanian radio.

The U.S. State Department on Tuesday praised Panama’s decision to detain and search the ship and said it was ready to help if asked.

It was unclear what the weapons were, but a photo posted on Martinelli’s official Twitter page showed a long, green missile-shaped object with a tapering, conical end inside the ship that security experts said may have been radar equipment or missiles.

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Martinelli posted on Twitter what he believes is “sophisticated missile equipment” seized from the ship [Panama Presidency]

Panama’s security minister, Jose Raul Mulino, told Reuters it was still unclear whether the cargo contained missiles.

Mulino said Panamanian authorities have been searching the ship since Wednesday and had so far only discovered two containers of military equipment.

The containers were hidden beneath more than 250,000 100-kilogram (220-pound) bags of sugar, he said.

After Panama began its search, Mulino said the captain became violent, but declined to give more details.

Martinelli went further, saying the captain of the vessel tried to commit suicide after the ship was stopped near the port of Manzanillo on the Atlantic side of the canal.

It was not clear how the captain, who is now receiving medical attention, had tried to kill himself.

The president said the crew resisted efforts by Panamanian authorities to redirect the ship, named Chong Chon Gang, to Manzanillo and that 35 crew members were detained.

ILLICIT CARGO

IHS Jane, a global analytics firm, said it had identified the equipment shown in the images as an SNR-75 ‘Fan Song’ fire control radar for the SA-2 family of surface-to-air missiles.

“We have not seen any indication of the missile system itself, though it’s entirely possible it’s there,” said Neil Ashdown, an IHS Jane defense analyst.

The radar is designed to detect enemy aircraft, he said.

“If it’s the entire thing, with the missile, that would be in contravention of U.N. sanctions,” Ashdown added.

The ship, bearing a large painted North Korean flag above its rusted deck, measures 155 meters by 20 meters (500 feet by 65 feet) and can carry up to nearly 14,000 tonnes of cargo, according to ship tracking website marinetraffic.com. The ship was built in 1977.

A spokeswoman for the canal said she did not have any more information.

The attorney general’s office declined to comment.

Javier Caraballo, Panama’s top anti-drugs prosecutor, told local television the ship was en route to North Korea.

The Chong Chon Gang was tracked leaving Vostochnyy, Russia on April 12, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, a maritime intelligence company.

It was next registered arriving in Balboa, on the Panama Canal’s Pacific side, on May 31, and crossed the waterway the next day with a stated destination of Havana, Cuba.

It then disappeared from the tracking system and reappeared in Manzanillo, Panama, on July 11, according to shipping data obtained by research group IHS Maritime.

IHS said there were indications it had changed cargo in the interim.

Cuban government officials declined to comment.

U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the Florida Republican who heads the House subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, called on President Barack Obama’s administration to cancel migration talks with Cuba this week.

North Korea, a reclusive and impoverished Asian nation, is under tough sanctions enacted by the United Nations, the United States and the European Union, including a U.N. ban on all arms exports due to its controversial nuclear weapons program.

Previous violations of sanctions included North Korean shipments of arms-related material to Syria in November 2010 and rocket fuses for Iran in 2008, the United Nations said.

Sanctions were toughened after the country’s February nuclear test and its vow to continue developing nuclear weapons, saying it fears an attack by the United States.

In 2010, the Chong Chon Gang was stopped by Ukrainian authorities who found small-arms ammunition and narcotics aboard the vessel, according to Hugh Griffiths, an arms trafficking expert at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

A year earlier, the ship had stopped in Tartus, Syria, home to a Russian naval base, Griffiths added.

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Edited by skibboy, 16 Jul 2013, 11:52 PM.
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Putrid North Korean Ship is Now Becoming a Giant Beehive

BY ROB ALMEIDA ON JULY 29, 2013

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North Korean container ship ''Chong Chon Gang'' docked at the Manzanillo International Container Terminal in Colon City July 16, 2013. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

On July 15, the North Korea-bound cargo ship Chong Chon Gang was stopped by Panamanian authorities outside the Panama Canal.

Within the containers on board, missile parts, fire control radars, and two Russian MiGs were found stuffed inside by authorities.

The contraband was hidden underneath ten thousand pounds of Cuban brown sugar.

After three weeks near the equator exposed to the atmosphere, the sugar has apparently now turned into a sticky, molten mess with overtones of urine, mold, body odor, and rotten food.

”To call that thing filthy would be a compliment,” said Panamanian Security Minister José Raúl Mulino in a report from the Miami Herald.

For the inspectors who are tasked with combing through this vessel, it’s a tall order.

An extraordinarily tall order considering the ship has now attracted every bee within smell range of the Chong Chon Gang.

According to NKNews and La Prensa, the Panamania Ministry of Health is now fumigating daily to help get rid of the bees and authorities are scrambling to find somewhere else to store the sugary mess while the inspection is carried out.

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08 AUGUST 2013

UN team to inspect N. Korean ship impounded in Panama

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View of North Korean vessel Chong Chon Gang at Manzanillo harbour in Colon on July 16, 2013.

AFP - A team of UN experts will head to Panama next week to inspect a North Korean ship impounded last month after the discovery of Cuban missile parts in its cargo.

Luxembourg's UN ambassador Sylvie Lucas announced the move on Wednesday.

"The panel will go next week to Panama to assist in the investigation, then will present a report to the committee," said Lucas, chairman of the UN sanctions committee.

The experts will report back to the committee which will then determine whether Pyongyang is in violation of any sanctions.

Lucas declined to speculate on what regulations may or may not have been broken.

"We don't yet have a report or a conclusion if this is a violation or not," she said. "Let's not put the cart in front of the horses."

The United States and other countries have stated that the discovery of non-declared Cuban weapons in the North Korean vessel represents a clear violation of a UN sanctions regime put in place against the reclusive state because of its nuclear programme.

Cuba insisted that missiles found within a sugar consignment aboard the Chong Chon Gang freighter were obsolete arms due to be repaired and returned by North Korea.

Panamanian authorities boarded the vessel because of suspicions it may have been carrying drugs.

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16 AUGUST 2013

N.Korea arms ship faces possible $1 mln fine: Panama

AFP - The Panama Canal authority said it will impose as much as a $1 million fine on the North Korean freighter caught with an undeclared shipment of Cuban weapons.

"It is a flagrant violation of safe passage through the Panama Canal and we have little tolerance for this kind of activity," canal administrator Jorge Quijano said on Thursday.

"It is going to be sanctioned," he said, adding that authorities were still mulling the size of the fine.

"It's obvious that there were containers that had not been declared, not to mention what was inside them."

The ship, the Chong Chon Gang, was boarded and searched July 10 on suspicion it was smuggling drugs.

Authorities instead uncovered 25 containers of military hardware, including two Soviet era MiG-21s, air defense systems, missiles and command and control vehicles, buried under tons of sugar.

Havana said they were obsolete Cuban arms being shipped to North Korea for refurbishment under a legitimate contract.

A team of UN experts had traveled to Panama to inspect the weapons and determine whether the shipment violated a UN ban against arms transfers to North Korea.

According to the Panamanian government, the experts wrapped up their visit Thursday.

However, officials did not provide any details on possible findings.

Quijano said fines imposed by the canal authority range from $10,000 to $100,000 for serious violations and up to $1 million for "very serious" violations.

"The case of the North Korean freighter is very serious," he told AFP.

Warships and ships carrying military or nuclear material routinely go through the canal, allowed passage even at times of war.

The only requirement is that canal authorities be given prior notice so that local authorities can take appropriate security precautions.

With five percent of the world's trade passing through it, the canal is a strategically important chokepoint requiring tight security procedures.

Only four North Korean flagged vessels have transited the 80-kilometer (48-mile) canal in the past two years.

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28 AUGUST 2013

Panama says N.Korea ship's arms violated UN sanctions

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The North Korean vessel Chong Chon Gang, at Manzanillo harbour in Colon, 90 kms from Panama City, on August 14, 2013.

AFP - The undeclared shipment of Cuban weapons found aboard a North Korean ship represent a violation of UN sanctions against arms transfers to Pyongyang, Panama said Wednesday.

The ministry of public security said in a statement that according to a report by UN experts sent to Panama after the seizure of the ship in July, the cargo "undoubtedly violates the UN sanctions."

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Panama To Send Detained North Korean Crew, Ship Home

BY REUTERS ON OCTOBER 18, 2013 Posted Image

PANAMA CITY, Oct 17 (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)

(c) 2013 Thomson Reuters

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Panama Freeing Most Of North Korean Crew in Smuggled Arms Case, Captain Still Held

BY REUTERS ON NOVEMBER 27, 2013

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North Korean container ship ”Chong Chon Gang” docked at the Manzanillo International Container Terminal in Colon City July 16, 2013. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

By Lomi Kriel

PANAMA CITY, Nov 27 (Reuters) – Panama is freeing most of the 35 North Korean crew members it detained more than four months ago for smuggling Cuban weapons aboard a ship, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

Tomas Cabal, head of the anti-terrorism section of Panama’s Foreign Ministry, said 32 of the crew of the Chong Chon Gang would be freed and should leave the country by Thursday.

The three most senior members, including the captain, still face charges of threatening Panama’s security by seeking to move undeclared weapons through the Panama Canal.

The crew’s return would end part of a bizarre case involving the three countries that provoked international controversy after the ship was seized in July for smuggling Soviet-era arms, including two MiG-21 aircraft, under 10,000 tons of sugar.

“The crew members have effectively been freed. They are drawing up the release order and will go to Havana. I understand they must leave by tomorrow,” Cabal said.

Panamanian officials have said the 32 appeared to be ignorant of what was in the cargo.

It was still unclear what would happen to the ship, because a $1 million fine the Panama Canal Authority imposed on the vessel has not yet been paid.

The U.N. Security Council has yet to decide on penalties against Cuba because of a 7-year-old ban against arms transfers to North Korea due to the country’s nuclear weapons program.

However, the arms will likely be sold or given away, Panama’s Foreign Minister Fernando Nunez Fabrega has said.

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.

(Reporting by Lomi Kriel; Editing by Simon Gardner, Dave Graham and Eric Walsh)

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North Koreans Agree to Pay Panama for Seized Ship

BY ROB ALMEIDA ON JANUARY 17, 2014

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Panama’s Foreign Minister, Fernando Nunez Fabrega, announced today that the government of North Korea has agreed to pay a $667 thousand fine to free the sailors and the North Korean ship, Chong Chon Gang which has been detained since July of last year.

The fine, which was initally set at $1 million, was imposed by the Panama Canal Authority when the ship was found to be carrying “war materials” which are prohibited by United Nations (UN) resolutions.

The fine will be paid next week according to a statement by Minister Fabrega.

Fabrega notes that 32 of the 35 crew will leave the country immediately, however the remaining crew members "must answer charges of ‘acting against collective security.’"


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30 January 2014

Panama releases 32 crew members of seized North Korean ship

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Russian-made fighter jet engines were found inside the Chong Chon Gang

Panama has released 32 crew members of a North Korean ship seized six months ago in the Panama Canal, carrying Cuban weapons under sacks of sugar.

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.

Documents have been found showing that "the ship's captain, the first officer and the political officer had been given instructions about what to do if the illegal shipment was detected," prosecutor Nahaniel Murgas said.

The 32 crew members also gave statements denying knowledge of the illegal cargo.

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Chong Chon Gang's route

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1. Departs from Nakhodka in Russian far east (200km east of North Korean border)

2. Arrives at Pacific side of Panama Canal

3. Leaves the Panama Canal on the Caribbean side heading for Havana, but disappears from satellite tracking

4. Arrives back at Panamanian port of Manzanillo; later searched for contraband. Weapons uncovered

___________________________________________________________________________

As a result they are being released without charge, but the captain and the other crew members face 12-year sentences for arms smuggling.

"Ageing weapons"

The container ship - the Chong Chon Gang - was stopped near Manzanillo, on the Atlantic side of the canal, on 15 July under suspicion that it was carrying drugs.

It had disappeared from satellite tracking for a few days as it approached the Cuban capital, Havana, having departed from Russia's eastern coast three months earlier.

Officials found 25 containers of military hardware, including two Soviet-era MiG-21 fighter aircraft, air defence systems, missiles and command and control vehicles.

Cuban authorities said that the ship was carrying 240 tonnes of "obsolete" defensive weapons.

A United Nations panel of experts was sent to Panama three weeks later.

The North Korean government had called on Panama to release the vessel.

"This cargo is nothing but ageing weapons which are to be sent back to Cuba after overhauling them according to a legitimate contract," the North's foreign ministry was quoted as saying by the state-run Central News Agency.

The UN team later published a preliminary report saying that sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear programme had been violated.

Under UN sanctions, North Korea is banned from weapons exports and the import of all but small arms.

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15 February 2014

N Korean ship seized with Cuban weapons returns to Cuba

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North Korea insisted the undeclared cargo was simply ageing weapons being sent for repair

The North Korean ship seized with undeclared Cuban weapons on board is returning to Cuba, says the Panamanian government.

The Panama Canal Authority recently said the ship could leave, after Pyongyang paid a nearly $700,000 (£425,000) fine.

The ship was seized seven months ago with Soviet-era weapons and fighter jets hidden under sacks of sugar.

Three members of the crew stayed behind to face arms trafficking charges.

The captain, the first officer and the political officer of the Chong Chon Gang face sentences of up to 12 years.

The other 32 crew members were released without charge.

Panama's Foreign Ministry said the ship set off on Saturday morning.

United Nations sanctions ban any country from providing arms to North Korea.

Soviet jets

The container ship was stopped near Manzanillo, on the Atlantic side of the canal, on 15 July under suspicion that it was carrying drugs.

It had disappeared from satellite tracking for a few days as it approached the Cuban capital, Havana, having departed from Russia's eastern coast three months earlier.

On searching the vessel, officials found military hardware including two Soviet-era MiG-21 fighter aircraft, air defence systems, missiles and command and control vehicles.

Cuban authorities said that the ship was carrying 240 tonnes of "obsolete" defensive weapons.

The North Korean government insisted the ageing weapons were simply being transferred to North Korea to be repaired, before returning them.

Panamanian officials quoted by Reuters news agency said the arms would likely be sold or given away and the sugar sold to companies interested in turning it into ethanol.

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Panama Orders Release of North Korean Crew

BY REUTERS ON JUNE 28, 2014

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North Korean container ship ”Chong Chon Gang” docked at the Manzanillo International Container Terminal in Colon City July 16, 2013. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

Posted ImagePANAMA CITY, June 27 (Reuters) – A Panamanian court on Friday ordered the release of three North Korean ship officers who were jailed after they were caught smuggling Cuban weapons through the Central American country.

The court absolved the captain and two officers, ruling that charges against them fell outside of Panama’s jurisdiction, the country’s judicial authority said in a statement.

The Chong Chon Gang ship was seized in July last year for smuggling Soviet-era arms, including two MiG-21 jet fighters, under thousands of tonnes of sugar.

Thirty-two North Korean sailors and the ship were released back in February.

A United Nations report issued in March said North Korea has developed sophisticated ways to circumvent United Nations sanctions, including the suspected use of its embassies to facilitate an illegal trade in weapons.

© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. Posted Image

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U.N. Blacklists Operator of North Korean Ship Seized in Panama

BY REUTERS ON JULY 29, 2014

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North Korean container ship ”Chong Chon Gang” is seen at the Manzanillo International container terminal dock in Colon City July 16, 2013. (c) REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

By Michelle Nichols

Posted ImageUNITED NATIONS, July 28 (Reuters) – A U.N. Security Council committee on Monday blacklisted the operator of a North Korean ship, which was seized near the Panama Canal last year for smuggling Soviet-era arms, and raised concerns about Cuba’s military cooperation with Pyongyang.

The North Korea (DPRK) sanctions committee designated Ocean Maritime Management, which operated the Chong Chon Gang, the ship detained a year ago carrying arms, including two MiG-21 jet fighters, under thousands of tonnes of sugar.

The company is now subject to an international asset freeze and travel ban. North Korea is under an array of United Nations and U.S. and other countries’ sanctions for nuclear and ballistic missile tests since 2006 in defiance of global demands to stop.

“Ocean Maritime Management Company, Ltd (OMM), played a key role in arranging the shipment of the concealed cargo of arms and related materiel,” the committee said in an implementation assistance notice.

“The concealment of the aforementioned items demonstrates intent to evade U.N. sanctions, and is consistent with previous attempts by the DPRK to transfer arms and related materiel through similar tactics in contravention of Security Council prohibitions,” the committee said.

After the weapons were discovered on the Chong Chon Gang, Cuba acknowledged it was sending “obsolete” Soviet-era weapons to be repaired in North Korea and then returned to Cuba.

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, described the Chong Chon Gang incident as “a cynical, outrageous and illegal attempt by Cuba and North Korea to circumvent United Nations sanctions.”

She said the Security Council committee had “uncovered irrefutable facts that clearly prove Cuba and the DPRK’s intentions to violate sanctions by employing highly sophisticated deception and obfuscation techniques.”

A U.N. report issued in March said North Korea has developed sophisticated ways to circumvent United Nations sanctions, including the suspected use of its embassies abroad to facilitate an illegal trade in weapons.

The Security Council committee said on Monday that investigation found indications that North Korean officials in Havana helped make arrangements for the Chong Chon Gang shipment.

“The committee encourages states to continue to exercise enhanced vigilance over DPRK diplomatic personnel,” it said.

The committee said it was concerned the military cooperation between Cuba and North Korea violated U.N. resolutions, which “prohibit the transfer from the DPRK by its nationals or from its territory of advice, services or assistance related to the maintenance or use of prohibited arms and related materiel.”

“This prohibition covers many activities including repair, diagnosis, monitoring, physical and chemical tests, and any related services for such items,” the committee said.

A Panamanian court on Friday ordered the release of the Chong Chon Gang’s three North Korean officers.

Thirty-two North Korean sailors and the ship were released by Panama in February.

(Additional reporting by James Pearson in Seoul; Editing by G Crosse and Mohammad Zargham)

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