North Korea’s Ship Impounded By Philippines As Part Of U.N. Sanctions — Did The Authorities Find Anything Suspicious? [Video]

The Philippine government confirmed it has impounded a North Korean ship. The seizure of the vessel, a freighter, was part of the new U.N. sanctions that were imposed after North Korea conducted multiple nuclear and ballistic missile tests.

The Philippine government impounded a North Korean freighter, the Jin Teng, in Subic Bay, confirmed presidential spokesman Manuel Quezon III. Making the announcement through a radio interview, Quezon III added that all the crew members will soon be deported to North Korea. He noted that the country was compelled to impound the freighter as part of the sanctions that were recently imposed against North Korea by the United Nations (U.N.). The country implied that this wouldn’t have happened if not for Pyongyang’s recent nuclear test and missile launch, and the global community’s reaction to these defiant acts, reported WLWT5.

Why was the ship impounded? The Philippine government impounded a North Korean cargo ship in response to the new U.N. sanctions that went into effect this past week requiring inspections of all North Korean vessels in foreign ports, reported Voice of America. Resolution 2270 mandates that other countries “should inspect cargo within or transiting through their territory – including airports, sea ports and free trade zones – that was destined for or originating from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).”

The cargo vessel, MV Jin Teng, had arrived at Subic Bay Thursday. Records indicate the ship had sailed from Palembang, an Indonesian port, just hours after the latest sanctions against North Korea were unanimously passed. The final destination hasn’t been confirmed. However, the ship was supposed to leave Philippines and head to China. It was during this routine layover that the cargo vessel was officially impounded.

According to Yahoo, the Jin Teng was ferrying organic produce, namely palm kernels, which are used to produce edible oil. It is not clear if the kernels were processed. The pulp that’s left after oil is removed from the kernel is rich in protein and can be used for feeding cattle or burning in boilers to generate electricity.

Interestingly, inspectors who oversaw the entire procedure and later conducted a thorough inspection of the cargo ship haven’t come across any suspicious cargo. Incidentally, the ship has undergone not one, but two inspections, the latest one being conducted on Saturday. Coastguard spokesman Commander Armand Balilo indicated inspectors used advanced electronic weapons sensors during the second search, but couldn’t find anything suspicious like explosives, drugs, or banned substances.

Philippine authorities are claiming they came across “a number of safety violations.” Officials insist the ship address all the violations before the decision to let it sail further is taken. While the ship was in the docks, Quezon III announced that the ship will not be allowed to leave port as scheduled, and the crew will be deported.

The 6,830-tonne cargo ship has been lying idle at the Subic port, northeast of the capital Manila, for about three days now. The country hasn’t confirmed if the relevant formalities to send the crew of the cargo vessel back to North Korea have been completed or not, but foreign affairs spokesman Charles Jose did note that a team from the U.N. is expected to inspect the ship in the port, located near a former United States naval base. He added that the ship was impounded “in compliance with the UN resolution” regardless of the results of the inspections.

.@JohnKerry says new North Korea sanctions are 'toughest' in more than 20 yrs; mandate cargo inspections & restrict natural resource trade

— Margaret Brennan (@margbrennan) March 2, 2016

North Korea has been fuming after the fresh rounds of sanctions. Calling the U.N. resolution a “disgrace,” North Korean state media KCNA published a statement that read,

“It is a disgrace to the world community to allow such high-handed practice of the US and other big powers possessed of many satellites and nuclear warheads. We will resolutely use all means and methods to take powerful, merciless and physical counteractions against the hostile forces’ anti-DPRK moves.”

In response to the sanctions, North Korea adamantly fired six short-range missiles into the sea on Thursday. Moreover, its leader Kim Jong-Un has ordered its nuclear arsenal “put on standby for pre-emptive use at any time”.

[Photo by Rodrigo Arangua/Getty Images]