Panama Found North Korean Ship with Weapons Hidden in Sugar Containers,

Originally posted by iunlimited491

This came after months of heightened tensions due to missile and nuclear bomb tests by the North, during which it threatened to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike against U.S. and South Korean targets.

There are fears Pyongyang is trying to build a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to the U.S.

^Things like this...

and everybody still wants to rag on the 'Evil' U.S. - the only ones who can save your a**.

edit on 16-7-2013 by iunlimited491 because: (no reason given)

Or kill a million people in Iraq and blame it on terrorists from Saudi Arabia and a crazy Arab in a cave on dialysis running the operation to bring down the twin towers.

In a strange way I find this comforting. If baby Kim is reduced to shoring up his air defences with ancient Cuban/Russian hand me downs it doesn't say much for the support he's getting from China.

Possibly the Chinese really have cut them off.

Originally posted by justwokeup
In a strange way I find this comforting. If baby Kim is reduced to shoring up his air defences with ancient Cuban/Russian hand me downs it doesn't say much for the support he's getting from China.

Possibly the Chinese really have cut them off.

edit on 16-7-2013 by justwokeup because: typo

Mhmmm, though I thought that N. Korea already had alot of air defenses set up (though out of date). Either they are putting more up or doing something else with it. I don't particularly find it very alarming considering they already have a lot of SAMs and this is just one more.

Originally posted by SLAYER69

Originally posted by MDDoxs
However, is it just me or is it a little cliche to have the rusted out ship with a big flag of North Korea, hauling military equipment? Seems a bit obvious.

N Korean ship traverses between Cuba and N Korea. Interesting hidden cargo found.
Yeah does sound a bit fishy. I'd love to hear Cuba and North Korea explain it.

It's a tactic called the smuggler's fire drill...Maybe that's what lil kim is doing. You give up some small potatoes to draw attention away from what you're really up to. The poor Cpt. is probably an unsuspecting pawn in the game, just as many mules are caught off guard coming through the borders, when they have been used. And it works well because the authorities start creaming themselves when they have a bust and slapping each other on the back...

Originally posted by Zaphod58
It appears to be an SA-2 surface to air missile system (or parts of it). Wow. Really sophisticated there. The SA-2 is what shot down Francis Gary Powers' U-2 over the Soviet Union in 1960. The part shown in the pictures appears to be part of the SNR-75 Fan Song radar system.




theaviationist.com...

en.wikipedia.org...

Very nice Info Zaph....

Thank You.

Just to add a little more, it appears to be a Fan Song E, which is one of the newer versions of the radar. It can include electro optical guidance for use in jamming conditions, as well as an Electronic Counter-Counter Measures (ECCM) mode. If it's an E, then it's a G band radar, with 1mw of output, with a range of between 45 and 90 miles, depending on conditions and altitude of the target. All versions of the Fan Song can track 6 targets simultaneously. The E has two additional antennas, for the ECCM mode.

The S-75 (NATO name SA-2 Guideline) was developed to counter high altitude overflights by US aircraft. Its first kill was an RB-57 Canberra over China in 1959, while the aircraft was flying over 65,000 feet. It was hit by 3 missiles fired from the battery.

It was also used to shoot down Francis Gary Powers (and several Soviet MiGs chasing him), over Russia in 1960, as well as Rudolf Anderson, who was also flying a U-2, over Cuba in 1962. Maj Anderson was killed in the incident. He was the only casualty of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Meanwhile, the ship, the Chong Chon Gang was tracked by satellite leaving the coast of Russia April 12th, with a stated destination of Havana. It crossed the Pacific, and passed through the canal to the Caribbean. It disappeared from satellite tracking until it arrived in the Caribbean, indicating that the tracking device may have been turned off.

longisland.news12.com...

What i don't understand is why they were trying to hide the missiles

If they had just loaded them openly labeled as missiles nothing would have been said..
It was the fact that they were hiding them that caused all the problems.

reply to post by ANNED


Because of sanctions. They're not supposed to be importing them.

Good god there was so much more.

Cuba has claimed it is the owner of the weapons found on board a North Korean ship that was seized by Panama. Cuba said the "obsolete" missile system parts were being sent to North Korea for repair.
A North Korean cargo ship seized in Panama on Monday was loaded at one of its ports with 240 tons of "obsolete defensive weaponry," according to a statement released by the Cuban Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.
Havana said the weapons, which were inconspicuously buried under 10,000 tons of sugar, were being sent back to North Korea for repair. The weapons included two anti-aircraft batteries, nine disassembled rockets, and two MiG-21 aircraft - all of which is Soviet-era military weaponry.

www.dw.de...

Wait... ! what?
This is odd, indeed.

Ship was said to be transporting 10,000 tons of sugar?
That in itself, is probably an expensive venture for starters.

Look at it like this -
If Sugar is being traded for $500 US dollars per ton, 10k tons adds up real quick. To the order of 5 million US dollars, and my friends THAT is some serious stuff to be floating around to (or under) cover for an arms shipment or deal. Think about it..

Once you factor in the vessel, crew and etcetera things like fuel and food.... totally aside from the the transporting of military hardware, which could be worth more than the reported cargo alone it's mind boggling to try to figure out myself.

I'd bet my hat, tinfoil.. that there are some "bigger" players involved in this overall, and not just shipping sugar for NK.

JMWAG
T-

While finishing my coffee, I found a declaration from the cuban government regarding this incident. Not sure if someone else got it already :

(Translation)

Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The authorities of the Republic of Panama have reported the arrest in the Panamanian port of Colón, the cargo ship Chong Chon Gang, flag of the People's Republic of Korea, from the Republic of Cuba.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to inform that the ship left port bound for Cuban Democratic People's Republic of Korea with a shipment, mostly, of 10 000 tonnes of sugar.

Also, in that ship, transported 240 tons of obsolete defensive armament-two complexes Volga and Pechora anti-aircraft missile Nine rockets in parts and pieces, two Mig-21 Bis aircraft and 15 engines of this type of aircraft, all manufactured elllo the middle of the last century, to be repaired and returned to our country.

The agreements signed by Cuba in this area are based on the need to maintain our defense capability to protect national sovereignty.

The Republic of Cuba reiterates its firm and irrevocable commitment to peace, disarmament, including nuclear disarmament, and respect for international law.

Havana, July 16, 2013

I don't know what part is true and part is not. I think the declaration just made it worse.

www.granma.cu...

It was reported on Coast to Coast that the captain, had a heart attack, after being stopped, and then tried to commit suicide. These had to be NUKES, No reason to go to all this trouble for a few conventional bombs. North Korea has conventional bombs, Why else hide them in brown sugar, try and transport them all the way from Cuba to North Korea through the Panama Canal. If these were indeed Nukes this is a huge eye opener. Why did they originate from Cuba, Something is very strange with this story.

reply to post by Glassbender777


Well lets see here....

North Korea may have thought their old and bestest pal Cuba may have had similar intentions towards the US [Given the very real history between Washington and Havana] but Fidel being a bit smarter than the average dictator sent them back to little kim jr with a note stating simply

"Thanks but no thanks, deal with your own mess"

Kindest regards

Castro

xoxoxo

reply to post by Glassbender777


Why do they have to be nukes? North Korea is prohibited from importing any weapons system under the UN sanctions. That means even that obsolete SA-2 they were carrying.

Originally posted by Glassbender777
It was reported on Coast to Coast that the captain, had a heart attack, after being stopped, and then tried to commit suicide. These had to be NUKES, No reason to go to all this trouble for a few conventional bombs. North Korea has conventional bombs, Why else hide them in brown sugar, try and transport them all the way from Cuba to North Korea through the Panama Canal. If these were indeed Nukes this is a huge eye opener. Why did they originate from Cuba, Something is very strange with this story.

edit on 17-7-2013 by Glassbender777 because: (no reason given)

No nukes this is how NK gets around santions. This one got caught. They have lots and lots of old equipment they need parts for. It is not a lot of trouble unless you get caught. The only thing odd about this story is the Cubans claiming they were just sending this stuff to NK to be fixed, I mean who is going to buy that? Of course that way they are not breaking santions but, still its a terrible cover story.

The captain may have been ordered to commit suicide if caught.I believe there have been other instances of NKs suicide before capture in the past.

So, Cuba: 'Obsolete' weapons on ship were going to North Korea for repair

Ok.... So that's your story. Then If your ship is completely legal, the crew would not resist arrest, and the captain would definitely not attempt suicide. There is much more going on with this.

Possible distraction from other shipment(s) which might be on their way or already reached their destination(s)? Wouldn't it be cheaper to invite technicians to fix instead of sending the equipment all the way across? Just a thought.

reply to post by jhn7537


Whatever the story, the seized weapons are worthless.

The sugar onboard and the ship itself may be worth far more.

Russia can send parts directly to North Korea by rail. This consignment is definitely not from Russia.

The only explanation is these are old parts from Cuba.

This incident means that North Korea is NOT getting supplies from Russia.

Whatever way you want to read this.

reply to post by GargIndia


Maybe these obsolete weapons were a "test run" for something more powerful, like say a nuke... They see what type of security there is and they find out if they can use the Panama Canal as a legitimate shipping lane moving forward... But who knows.. Maybe I'm connecting the dots all wrong...

I wonder.....if the ship came empty all the way to Cuba to get loaded.