05/03/2016

NorthKoreashipimpoundedinPhilippinesCNN.com

North Korea ship impounded in Philippines as part of fresh sanctions

By Greg Botelho, CNN
Updated 1728 GMT (0128 HKT) March 5, 2016 | Video Source: CNN

Story highlights
The cargo ship, now in Subic Bay, is one of 31
vessels from one company named in the new
U.N. sanctions
The vessel will be impounded and its crew will
be
deported, a Filipino government official says
North Korea has been defiant in the face of
worldwide condemnation of its developing
nuclear, missile programs

(CNN)While North Korea keeps firing literal and figurative salvos, the world has responded with harsher sanctions -ones that the Philippines has put into effect by detaining a ship from the reclusive East Asian nation.
The Philippine government has impounded a North Korean freighter, the Jin Teng, in Subic Bay and plans to deport its
crew, presidential spokesman Manuel Quezon III said in a radio interview, according to the official Philippines News
Agency.
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.
The 15-member U.N. Security Council voted this week to impose an array of new sanctions in response to what it called
"violation and flagrant disregard" of previous resolutions. Tellingly, this vote was unanimous -- with not only from longtime
North Korean foes such as the United States and Japan, but also Russia and China, who have been less adversarial to the
regime.

Among other provisions, 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." It also makes special mention of calling out any "evasion of sanctions" by various parties.

Regions +

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/05/asia/northkoreanuclearsanctionsphilippines/index.html

1/3

05/03/2016

NorthKoreashipimpoundedinPhilippinesCNN.com

The Jin Teng is one of 31 vessels operated by Ocean Maritime Management, which is named in the U.N. resolution as being "subject to the asset freeze."
Documents show that all 21 of the Sierra Leone-flagged ship's crew are North Korean nationals.
The freighter arrived Thursday in Subic Bay, on the west of the Philippines' main island of Luzon, from Indonesia with a load of palm kernels, according to state news. CNN
crews saw its cargo being subsequently unloaded and put onto trucks at the port.
In addition to the U.N.-related issues, coast guardsmen also found minor safety violations like faulty emergency light bulbs, a lack of fire hoses, corroded air vents and
inadequate accommodations for crew, according to Philippines Coast Guard spokesman Armand Balilo.
A team from the United Nations may also inspect the Jin Teng, according to Quezon. Regardless, the Philippine government will report its findings to that world body.

Kim talks of readying 'nuclear warheads'

Such actions -- this ship seizure, specifically, and stronger sanctions, generally -- seemingly have done little to deter North Korea's muscle flexing, bellicose talk and nuclear
ambitions.
Several times this week, in fact, North Korea has continued and, if anything, escalated its threat to potentially deploy a nuclear weapon.
On Friday, for instance, state news agency KCNA reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country's "nuclear warheads need to be ready for use at any time."
"Under the extreme situation that the U.S. Imperialist is misusing its military influence and is pressuring other countries and people to start war and catastrophe, the only way
for our people to protect sovereignty and rights to live is to strengthen the quality and quantity of nuclear power and realize the balance of power," Kim said, according to
KCNA.
This rhetoric came out a day after the news agency reported tests of a new multiple-launch rocket system. This may or
may not be referring to a launch of "short-range projectiles" chronicled one day earlier by the South Korean Joint Chiefs
of Staff.

Pyongyang has long boasted about its nuclear ambitions, about as long as countries like South Korea and the United
States have sought to derail them. The issue has only furthered the isolation of North Korea, a communist, closed-off
state led for decades by the authoritarian Kim, his late father and his grandfather.
A chief concern is not only that Pyongyang will develop effective nuclear warheads, but that they'll pair them with
missiles that can strike targets around East Asia and perhaps beyond.

Related Video: North Korea test fires six

missiles 02:21

North Korea has even repeatedly threatened to attack the United States, including saying last August that it would do so
"with tremendous muscle." A state television report in 2015 mentioned that such strikes could reach the American
mainland.
There are strong doubts North Korea currently has the technology to mate a nuclear warhead to a missile that could
travel 5,000 miles and hit the U.S. West Coast. But much is still unknown about Pyongyang's military potential, and
there's no disputing its bravado.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/05/asia/northkoreanuclearsanctionsphilippines/index.html

2/3

05/03/2016

NorthKoreashipimpoundedinPhilippinesCNN.com

One anti-nuclear advocate thinks a lot of the talk is intended for internal consumption, to help Kim consolidate power, and is not proof of his military's abilities.
"To me, right now, it's a lot of bluster," said Philip Yun, executive director of the Ploughshares Fund, a group that calls for nuclear disarmament.
"For them to deliver on a threat, they have to have intent and they have to have capability. And quite frankly, I don't think they have both."
Will U.S. deploy THAAD weapons system after North Korean threats?
CNN's Camille Abadicio, K.J. Kwon and Dana Ford contributed to this report.

ISIS sends message to Putin

Voting begins in final New Zealand flag referendum

Caitlyn Jenner: I'd be "trans ambassador" for Ted Cruz if he wins

Tiger Woods stunned by 11-year-old kid's hole in one

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/05/asia/northkoreanuclearsanctionsphilippines/index.html

3/3