Panama: Cuba 'Owns' North Korean Ship Arms

Cuba has claimed it owns the arms that were found on board a North Korean ship that Panama has impounded.

Panama has called for United Nations investigators to inspect the shipment of missile parts found on the Chong Chon Gang as it tried to enter the Panama Canal last week.

The contraband munitions were hidden under thousands of bags labelled "Cuban Raw Sugar", Panama said.

Cuba claimed ownership in a statement on state television, saying the Soviet-era missile system parts were to be repaired and returned - without mentioning where they were being sent.

The weapons were hiding under thousands of bags labelled Cuban Raw Sugar

Cuba said the shipment contained "obsolete" weaponry "manufactured in the mid-20th century", including anti-aircraft missile arrays, nine disassembled missiles, two MiG-21 Bis jets and 15 engines.

"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.

"Cuba reiterates its firm and unwavering commitment with peace, disarmament - including nuclear disarmament - and respect for international law."

Portraits of Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung on board the Chong Chon Gang

Cuba is the only one-party Communist regime in the Americas, and is a rare ally of similarly isolated Pyongyang.

North Korea's army chief of staff General Kyok Sik Kim visited Cuba last month and said the two countries were "in the same trench".

The shipment could constitute a violation of the strict UN arms sanctions imposed on North Korea over its nuclear programme and further sour relations between the US and Cuba.

Panama's security minister Jose Raul Mulino said authorities believe the ship was returning from Havana on its way to North Korea.

He said the affair was now a matter for UN investigators.

President Martinelli inspecting the ship

"The Security Council will have to send experts," he said.

The US said it strongly supports Panama's actions over the Chong Chon Gang.

"We stand ready to cooperate with Panama should they request our assistance," said US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell.

The IHS global information company identified the equipment as an RSN-75 Fan Song fire control radar, also known as the SNR-75 Fan Song, for the SA-2 group of surface-to-air (SAM) missiles.

Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli tweeted a photo of the weaponry with the message: "The world needs to sit up and take note: you cannot go around shipping undeclared weapons of war through the Panama Canal."

Panamanian authorities boarded the ship suspecting it was carrying drugs

He said the North Korean captain attempted to kill himself and violence broke out among the 35-strong crew as the ship was raided.

It had been stopped because it was suspected of transporting drugs.

A Panamanian government spokesman said an examination of the ship by weapons specialists may take as long as a week.

Pyongyang has yet to comment on the case.

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