Cuba will cooperate with UN on investigation of North Korean cargo

The government of Cuba has expressed its intention to cooperate with the Security Council of the United Nations in the investigation of the North Korean ship that was detained in Panama for carrying weapons put aboard in Cuba.

The announcement was made Thursday 12 in New York by the chairwoman of the Council’s committee that supervises the embargo of weapons to North Korea, Mrs. Sylvie Lucas, Luxembourg’s representative to the United Nations.

“Cuba has stated that it intends to cooperate fully with the Sanctions Committee,” she said, quoted by the Russian news agency ITAR-TASS.

“The group of [U.N.] experts are in contact with the Cuban authorities. I am also in contact with the permanent representative of Cuba [at the U.N.] for that purpose,” added Lucas, according to the agency RIA-Novosti.

The current permanent representative of Cuba to the United Nations is Rodolfo Reyes RodrÌguez.

According to Lucas, the members of her committee discussed on Wednesday 11 a preliminary report delivered by a group of experts in armaments who inspected the North Korean cargo ship Chong Chon Gang in Panama. The final report, which will contain recommendations from the panel of experts, has not been completed.

The experts “told us that they would give it to us as soon as possible but that their work is ongoing,” Lucas said. “There is an exchange of information with the Panamanian and Cuban authorities and I’m sure that the experts will do everything possible to speed up the process, but I cannot speculate about that aspect.”

The North Korean vessel was detained in Panama on July 10, en route to North Korea. Weapons and military instruments from Cuba were found inside, in violation of the military embargo imposed by the U.N. against North Korea in 2006.

Days later, the Cuban government stated that the weapons had been sent to Pyangyang “to be repaired and subsequently returned to the island.”