N Korean ship released after Panama fines paid

[PANAMA CITY] A North Korean ship detained near the Panama Canal for holding Cuban weapons is free to go after the ship's representatives paid a US$693,333 fine to the Panama Canal Authority, the authority said.

The return of the Chong Chon Gang to North Korea would end part of a bizarre case involving the three countries that provoked international controversy.

The ship was seized in July for smuggling Soviet-era arms, including two MiG-21 aircraft, under 10,000 tonnes of sugar.

Since then, the ship has been moored at the Manzanillo International Terminal on Panama's Atlantic side while the canal authority waited for the payment of at least two-thirds of the US$1 million fine it imposed for the ship trying to traffic illegal weapons thr…