The Panamanian government said on Wednesday that a North Korean freighter seized in July with Cuban weapons on board had violated a UN embargo on Pyongyang.
The Ministry of Public Security cited a draft report by an expert panel of the UN sanctions committee that said the Cuban weapons found in the freighter Chong Chon Gang violated “without doubt” the sanctions on North Korea.
The vessel was stopped last month in the port of Manzanillo at the entrance to the Panama Canal, carrying Cuban weapons hidden under bags of sugar.
Panamanian authorities said previously they had found anti-aircraft missile systems, missile parts, two MiG-21 jet fighters and bazookas on board the vessel.
The Cuban government has said that the ship, bound for North Korea from the Caribbean island, was carrying outdated weapons being sent for repair and intended for return to Cuba.
The UN imposed sanctions against communist North Korea in 2006 in a long-running dispute over the regime’s nuclear programme.