North Korea to Panama: Release our ship, crew

North Korea has a message for Panamanian authorities who seized a cargo ship and arrested its crew: release the ship and let them go.

“The Panamanian investigation authorities rashly attacked and detained the captain and crewmen of the ship on the plea of ‘drug investigation’ and searched its cargo but did not discover any drug,” a spokesman for North Korean’s Foreign Ministry told state-run KCNA Wednesday. “Yet, they are justifying their violent action, taking issue with other kind of cargo aboard the ship. This cargo is nothing but aging weapons which are to send back to Cuba after overhauling them according to a legitimate contract.”

According to the state media report, the spokesman described the incident as an “abnormal case.”

“The Panamanian authorities should take a step to let the apprehended crewmen and ship leave without delay,” the spokesman said, according to KCNA.

Panama has formally asked the United Nations for guidance on how to handle the case of the military weapons it found on the North Korean ship, the country’s foreign minister told CNN en Español Wednesday.

U.N. representatives will travel to Panama to examine the case,

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