Seized N Korean ship: Cuban weapons on board
Cuba has admitted being behind a stash of weapons found on board a North Korean ship seized in the Panama Canal. The Cuban foreign ministry said the ship was carrying obsolete Soviet-era arms from Cuba for repair in North Korea. The ship was seized by Panama last week after "undeclared military cargo" was found hidden in a shipment of sugar. United Nations sanctions prohibit the supply of arms to North Korea [by what right?] in the dispute over its nuclear programme. A Cuban foreign ministry statement said Cuba reaffirmed its commitment to "peace, disarmament, including nuclear disarmament, and respect for international law". It said the vessel was carrying 240 tonnes of obsolete defensive weapons - two anti-aircraft missile complexes, nine missiles in parts and spares, two MiG-21bis fighter planes and 15 MiG engines. The Cuban statement said they were all made in the mid-20th Century and were to be repaired and returned to Cuba.