North Korea Demands That Panama Free It's Seized Ship With Cuban Arms

Cuban Missile Crisis II? Not Exactly, Say Weapons Experts -- Nick Thompson, CNN

(CNN) -- The bizarre case of a North Korea-bound ship being seized and searched following a violent struggle on the Panama Canal sounds like a deleted scene from the Cold War.

But officials fearing some sort of modern-day Cuban Missile Crisis could only have been relieved to find out that what Cuba describes as an assortment of antique Soviet weapons discovered aboard the ship -- buried under 255,000 sacks of brown sugar -- are more suited to a Cold War museum than they are to being used as weapons in the 21st century.

The ship, which is still being searched by Panamanian officials, contained 240 tons of Russian-made defensive weapons including two anti-aircraft missile systems, nine missiles in parts and spares and two MiG-21 jets, according to Cuban officials. Panama hasn't yet detailed what has been seized.

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More News On Panama Seizing A North Korean Ship Filled With Weapons

North Korea demands Panama free seized ship carrying arms -- Reuters
North Korea urges Panama to release weapons ship -- BBC
Panama Raid Raises Questions About Weapons’ Fate -- Wall Street Journal
North Korea demands release of ship seized in Panama Canal carrying arms from Cuba -- Sydney Morning Herald
North Korea to Panama: Release our ship, crew -- CNN
North Korea calls for release of crew detained after ship caught carrying Cuban weapons -- FOX News
NKorea To Panama: Free Detained Freighter And Crew -- NPR
Panama Seeks UN Inspectors for Seized North Korean Ship -- Bloomberg
Panama calls in U.N. to inspect North Korean arms ship -- Reuters
Panama holds North Korean ship with suspected military cargo -- Washington Post/AP
Panama Finds Suspected Weapons on N. Korean Ship -- ABC News/AP
Panama says North Korean arms shipment a matter for the UN -- FOX News/AFP
N. Korean ship mystery: Panama says it found missile parts behind bags of sugar -- Miami Herald/McClacthy news
Concealed cargo in North Korean ship is missile parts, Jane's says -- L.A. Times
US 'Strongly Supports' Panama Inspection of North Korean Ship -- Voice of America
Panama Interdicts North Korean Ship Smuggling Military Hardware -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Panama Seizes North Korea-Flagged Ship For Weapons -- New York Times
North Korean ship with 'military cargo' held by Panama -- BBC
Panama's president tweets pictures of missiles found hidden in North Korean ship's sugar cargo after it sailed from Cuba -- Daily Mail
Panama claims to have grabbed N.Korean-flagged ship -- CBS/AP
Panama Detains North Korea-Flagged Ship -- Wall Street Journal
Panama seizes North Korean ship carrying missiles -- USA Today
Panama finds weapons hidden in North Korean ship arriving from Cuba -- CNN
Panama intercepts North Korean ship -- Deutsche Welle
Cuba's Brown Sugar of Mass Destruction -- James Gibney, Bloomberg

Update #1: This is interesting .... Another North Korean Ship Made Cuba Run in 2012 -- New York Times
Update #2: A glance at seizures of North Korea weapons shipments -- CNN