Crewmen of the North Korean cargo vessel Jin Teng stand on the middle of the deck as it unloads its cargo while docked at Subic Bay, in Zambales province, northwest of Manila, Philippines, Friday, March 4, 2016. The Philippine coast guard inspected a North Korean cargo vessel that docked at a port northwest of Manila in one of the first such checks since the U.N. Security Council imposed further sanctions on Pyongyang over its nuclear program. AP FILE PHOTO
ELEVEN days after the Philippines impounded a North Korean ship following UN sanctions against the communist state’s nuclear program, new Foreign Secretary Rene Almendras said the government was still checking a few details before taking the next step.
“We are checking details on a few things and will make (an) announcement by midweek,” Almendras told the Inquirer in a text message over the weekend.
The Philippines was the first, and so far the only, country to enforce the latest and toughest measures of the UN Security Council meant to impair the Democratic Republic of North Korea’s (DPRK) ability to generate funds and have access to technology to assist its nuclear weapons program.
The Coast Guard impounded the MV Jin Teng, the North Korea-controlled cargo vessel, at the Subic Bay Freeport on March 4, two days after the UN issued the resolution.
Authorities inspected the 6,830-ton ship but found no weapons of mass destruction among its cargo.
The impounded vessel is among the 31 ships owned by the North Korean company Ocean Maritime Management, which the UN resolution identified as part of the “asset freeze” against the DPRK.
Three years ago, a North Korean ship headed for Cuba was impounded by Panamanian authorities following UN sanctions. Nikko Dizon