Cuba: Weapons on N. Korean Ship 'Obsolete'

[Bacchus4.0]

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/cuba-calls-weapons-north-korean-ship-obsolete-19684543


Cuba said military equipment found buried under sacks of sugar on a North Korean ship seized as it tried to cross the Panama Canal was obsolete weaponry from the mid-20th century that it had sent to be repaired.

Panamanian authorities said it might take a week to search the ship, since so far they have only examined one of its five container sections. They have requested help from United Nations inspectors, along with Colombia and Britain, said Javier Carballo, Panama's top narcotics prosecutor. North Korea is barred by U.N. sanctions from importing sophisticated weapons or missiles.

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But Cuba's Foreign Ministry released a statement late Tuesday acknowledging that the military equipment belonged to the Caribbean nation, saying it had been shipped out to be repaired and returned to the island.

"The agreements subscribed by Cuba in this field are supported by the need to maintain our defensive capacity in order to preserve national sovereignty," the statement read.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/cuba-calls-weapons-north-korean-ship-obsolete-19684543

[naaman fletcher]

1. Why?

Would Cuba know what was on a North Korean ship that was coming from Russia?