Panama Seizes North Korea-Flagged Ship Carrying Missile Components (Updated)

Panama Says Finds Weapons On North Korean Ship Coming From Cuba -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Panama seized a North Korean cargo ship it suspects was hiding missile equipment in a shipment of brown sugar from Cuba, after a standoff in which the ship's captain tried to slit his own throat.

The ship was stopped last week as it headed into the Panama Canal and authorities arrested the crew on Monday after finding undeclared missile-shaped objects - a potential violation of U.N. sanctions linked to North Korea's nuclear program.

"We found containers which presumably contain sophisticated missile equipment. That is not allowed. The Panama canal is a canal of peace, not war," Panama's President Ricardo Martinelli told local radio on Tuesday.

A photo posted on Martinelli's official Twitter page showed a long, green missile-shaped object with a tapering, conical end inside the ship. A security expert said pictures showed radar systems for Vietnam-era, Soviet-made surface-to-air missiles.

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More News On Panama Seizing North Korea-Flagged Ship Carrying Missile Components

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