UN Places Sanctions against North Korean Shippers

The United Nations Security Council has imposed sanctions on the North Korean shippers that operate the vessel Chong Chon Gang, seized by Panama in July 2013 for attempting to smuggle weapons from Cuba to North Korea.

According to the UN, the shipping company, Ocean Maritime Management Company Limited, played a key role in arranging the shipment of concealed cargo of arms and related materiel from Cuba to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and as such attempted to evade established arms embargoes.

Panamanian authorities reportedly stopped the vessel last year as it tried to enter the Panama Canal because they suspected that the vessel was smuggling drugs, but instead discovered two Cuban fighter jets, missiles and other live weapons beneath its cargo of sugar.