PH impounds North Korean ship

THE Philippines has impounded a North Korean cargo vessel that is covered by a United Nations-imposed sanction against Pyongyang.

Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Armand Balilo said the freighter, M/V Jin Teng, remained docked in Subic where it was offloading palm kernel expeller.

The ship, which came from Indonesia, was one of 31 vessels operated by Ocean Maritime Management that was included in the UN watch list for a supposed record of transporting weapons of mass destruction (WMD) from North Korea.

While no weapons of mass destruction were recovered from the vessel, Balilo said the Coast Guard found four minor safety violations: faulty emergency light bulbs, no firehoses, corroded ballast air vents and inadequate accommodation.

Balilo said the 21 crew members, all North Korean nationals, will be deported.

According to Undersecretary Manuel Quezon II of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office, the UN may send a team to inspect the cargo ship.

“As far as Foreign Assistant Secretary Gary Domingo said, yes our obligation is essentially to impound the vessel and not allow to leave port,” Quezon said.

“As part of the UN, we have an obligation to unite and exercise these sanctions. We have an obligation to do whatever we can to implement these sanctions,” the Palace official added.

After the inspections, he said the Philippine government will submit a report to the UN about the respective sanctions that they have implemented.