The Chong Chon Gang was intercepted on July 10 as it tried to enter the Panama Canal. Authorities uncovered 25 containers of military hardware, including two Soviet era MiG-21 fighter jets, air defense systems, missiles and command and control vehicles. The ship’s 35 crew members are being detained at a former US military base in Panama on arms trafficking charges. They face up to 12 years in prison if convicted.
The Panama Canal Authority announced Thursday that it slapped a $1 million fine on a North Korean cargo ship caught with an undeclared shipment of Cuban weapons in July.
The Panamanian government said last month that a United Nations report found that the shipment was a violation of UN sanctions against arms transfers to North Korea’s communist regime.
Warships or vessels carrying military and even nuclear material regularly cross the 50-mile (80-kilometer) long waterway, but they have to warn the local authorities beforehand so they can take security measures.