Pyongyang fights Mexico’s detention of blacklisted North Korean firm’s ship and crew

[KimJongUn]

Pyongyang fights Mexico’s detention of blacklisted North Korean firm’s ship and crew

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 09 April, 2015, 5:11pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 09 April, 2015, 6:40pm

AFP and AP at the United Nations

The OMM company was blacklisted last year after its ship, the Chong Chon Gang, was found with arms including this Soviet-built radar control system for surface-to-air missiles (above). Photo: AFP

North Korea has accused Mexico of illegally detaining a ship – and blaming the United States for preventing its release – while insisting that the vessel is not linked to a firm blacklisted by the UN.

The 6,500-tonne Mu Du Bong ship ran aground near the port of Tuxpan, Mexico, in July and was later impounded over its ties to North Korea’s Ocean Maritime Management Company (OMM), which has been targeted by UN sanctions for arms smuggling.

The penalty came after another OMM ship had been detained by Panamanian authorities after they found two Cuban fighter jets, missiles and live munitions beneath a cargo of sugar.

The Mu Du Bong hit a reef, damaging nearly an acre of coral, in the Gulf of Mexico on July 14, apparently due to a navigational error, Mexican officials said.

“The Mu Du Bong is a peaceful merchant ship,” North Korea’s deputy representative An Myong-hun told reporters at the North Korean mission. “The detention of the Mu Du Bong is a rampant violation of the dignified sovereignty of the DPRK.

“We will take necessary measures to make the ship leave immediately,” he said, accusing the United States of pressuring Mexico to refuse to release the ship.

The North Korean diplomat said a crew of 50 North Koreans were being held with the ship and added: “Their families are crying for their return.”

An Myong-hun, North Korea's deputy ambassador to the United Nations, insisted the detained ship Mu Du Bong was a peaceful merchant vessel with no ties to the blacklisted firm. Photo: Kyodo

The head of a UN panel of experts, however, said the ship is owned by the blacklisted company and hence 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,” Hugh Griffiths said in an email.

After the sanctions, OMM responded by simply 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 UN member states as recommended, the panel said at the time.

Diplomat An also said Mexican authorities in January had decided to release the ship but “suddenly” revoked its decision. The UN panel’s report, released in February, said the experts had informed Mexican authorities that the ship is an OMM asset.

The North Korean envoy said Pyongyang had compensated Mexico for the environmental damage to the reef. The North Korean embassy in Mexico was asked to post a US$770,000 bond for any damage assessment.

Ricardo Alday, spokesman for Mexico’s UN mission, said there were 33 North Korean nationals in Tuxpan and that talks were under way with Pyongyang to allow them to return home.

“This is not an illegal action,” Alday said. “We are fulfilling our international obligation under Security Council resolutions.”

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.

The Security Council already has a series of sanctions in force against North Korea over its nuclear programme and missile launches. A report by a UN panel of expert in February found that Pyongyang was still trying to purchase items to bolster its nuclear and missile programmes.

Meanwhile, in response to An’s accusation of US meddling, a diplomat with the US mission to the UN 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 UN sanctions.