North Korea Blames U.S. for Blocking Release of Ship Held by Mexico
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Version 0 of 1. UNITED NATIONS — North Korea said Wednesday that Mexico had “forcibly detained” one of its ships for months after the vessel ran aground in the Gulf of Mexico, and the North blamed the United States for blocking the ship’s release. But the coordinator of a United Nations panel of experts said that the ship, the Mu Du Bong, was owned by a North Korean company that was under United Nations sanctions and should be “frozen” and that the panel had received excellent cooperation from Mexico in tracking the company and its assets. “In the case of the Mu Du Bong, the evidence is overwhelming,” the panel’s coordinator, Hugh Griffiths, wrote in an email. The United Nations sanctions were imposed in response to North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. Sanctions were imposed on the ship’s owner, the Ocean Maritime Management Company, in July after the Panamanian authorities found two Cuban fighter jets, missiles and live munitions beneath a cargo of sugar in another ship the company operated. The company responded by renaming 13 of its 14 vessels in an effort to avoid detection, the panel reported in February. North Korea has a history of using front companies for that purpose. None of the ships had been frozen by United Nations member states as recommended, the panel had said at the time. North Korea’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations said Wednesday that his country would take unspecified “necessary measures to make the ship leave immediately.” The North Korean diplomat, An Myong-hun, said the Mu Du Bong was strictly a commercial ship. He denied that it was carrying anything prohibited by the United Nations sanctions and said it had no relationship with Ocean Maritime Management. Mr. An also said that the Mexican authorities in January had decided to release the ship but “suddenly” revoked the decision. The United Nations panel’s report said experts had informed the Mexican authorities that the ship was an Ocean Maritime Management asset. The ship ran aground in July and damaged nearly an acre of coral reefs. The North Korean Embassy in Mexico was asked to post a $770,000 bond for any damage assessment. Mr. An said his country had paid the necessary fees and had “no legal obligation” to wait to move the ship. Ricardo Alday, political coordinator for Mexico’s mission to the United Nations, said in an email that Mexico was not forcibly detaining the ship and that his country was fulfilling its international obligations. He said the 33 North Korean crew members “have absolute freedom of movement” and sleep in a hotel in the port of Tuxpan, where the ship is anchored. Mr. An, the North Korean diplomat, said the United States was responsible for pressing Mexico to hold the ship. A diplomat with the United States mission to the United Nations later said, “As much as North Korea wants to make this about the United States, this is the determination of the 1718 Panel of Experts,” which monitors compliance with United Nations sanctions. The diplomat requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. |