The Philippines yesterday said it had impounded a North Korean vessel in response to tough new UN sanctions introduced in response to Pyongyang’s recent nuclear and ballistic missile tests, though the nationality of the ship was disputed.
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, Philippine presidential spokesman Manolo Quezon said on state-run radio station Radyo ng Bayan.
It was the first reported case of the sanctions — the toughest to date, which were adopted late on Wednesday by the UN Security Council — being enforced.
Photo: Reuters
“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, which is near a former US naval base, Philippine Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said.
The Jin Teng was inspected for the second time yesterday, this time using electronic weapons sensors, Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Commander Armand Balilo told reporters, adding that the 21 crewmen were “very cooperative.”
Philippine Assistant Secretary of Foreign Affairs Gary Domingo said the Jin Teng was identified in a UN sanctions list as a North Korean vessel that needed to be held under an “assets freeze” order.
However, coast guard Commander Raul Belesario said the Jin Teng’s papers show that it is a Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship owned by a company based in the British Virgin Islands.
North Korea has no embassy in the Philippines. Its embassies in Thailand and Indonesia were unavailable for comment when contacted by reporters.
There are no other North Korean ships docked in Subic, according to the coast guard.
The Jin Teng, carrying palm kernels, arrived in Subic from Palembang, Indonesia, on Thursday afternoon, just hours after the latest sanctions were unanimously passed.
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