North Korea ship seized at a Philippine port
Hours after China blacklisted 31
North Korean vessels, the Philippines said on Saturday it had impounded
a North Korean vessel in response to tough new United Nations sanctions
introduced in response to Pyongyang’s recent nuclear and ballistic
missile tests.
The 6,830-tonne cargo ship Jin Teng will not
be allowed to leave Subic port, northeast of the capital Manila, where
it had been docked for three days and its crew will be deported,
presidential spokesman Manolo Quezon said on state-run radio station
Radyo ng Bayan.
It was the second reported case
of the sanctions — the toughest to date, which were adopted late
Wednesday by the UN Security Council — being enforced.
“The world is concerned over
North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and as a member of the UN, the
Philippines has to do its part to enforce the sanctions,” Quezon said.
A team from the UN is expected to inspect the ship in the port,
located near a former United States naval base, foreign affairs
spokesman Charles Jose said.
Kim Jong Un: world waiting for next move
The Jin Teng was inspected for
the second time on Saturday, this time using electronic weapons sensors,
coastguard spokesman Commander Armand Balilo told AFP, adding the 21
crewmen were “very cooperative”.
There are no other North Korean ships docked in Subic, according to the coastguard.
The Jin Teng, carrying palm
kernels, arrived in Subic from Palembang, Indonesia Thursday afternoon,
just hours after the latest sanctions were unanimously passed.
In response to the UN’s move,
Pyongyang fired six short-range missiles into the sea on Thursday, while
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un ordered its nuclear arsenal put on
standby for pre-empty use at anytime.
On Friday, the European Union
also tightened sanctions against North Korea by adding 16 individuals
and 12 entities to a list of some 60 individuals and groups who were hit
with travel bans and asset freezes.
*Reported by AFP
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