Cuban Missiles Headed for N. Korea Similar to Ones That Shot Down U-2s in 1960s

Cuban Missiles Headed for N. Korea Similar to Ones That Shot Down U-2s
in 1960s
July 17, 2013 - 4:24 AM
By Patrick Goodenough

(CNSNews.com) – The Cuban government said late Tuesday that weaponry
found aboard a North Korean-flagged ship detained in the Panama Canal
after leaving Cuba was "obsolete" material being sent to North Korea for
repair.
Cuba's foreign ministry did not explain why the missile and aircraft
equipment was – according to Panamanian officials – was undeclared and
hidden in a shipment of Cuban sugar. Nor did it say why it was destined
for repair in North Korea rather than Russia, where it originated.

And despite the ministry's assertion that Havana respects international
law, the shipping of any missile-related items to North Korea violates
at least three U.N. Security Council resolutions, passed in response to
North Korean nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and early this year.

The Cuban statement said that the ship, the MV Chong Chon Gang, had been
"mainly loaded with 10,000 tons of sugar" but also carried "240 metric
tons of obsolete defensive weapons."

These comprised Volga and Pechora anti-aircraft missile systems, nine
missiles "in parts and spares," two Mig-21 bis fighters and 15 engines
for the planes, it said, "all of it manufactured in the mid-twentieth
century."

The ministry said the equipment was being shipped to North Korea to be
repaired before being returned to Cuba, and that this was being done in
line with "the need to maintain our defensive capacity in order to
preserve national sovereignty."

It concluded by declaring that Cuba "reiterates its firm and unwavering
commitment with peace, disarmament, including nuclear disarmament, and
respect for international law."

The Volga is a variant of the S-75 Dvina (NATO designation: SA-2
Guideline), the Soviet-made surface-to-air missile that was used to
shoot down Gary Powers' U-2 spy plane over the Soviet Union in 1960. An
S-75 was also used to down a U-2 plane over Cuba during the Cuban
Missile Crisis in 1962, resulting in the death of Major Rudolf Anderson.

According to military historian Steven Zaloga's 2007 book, Red SAM: The
SA-2 Guideline Anti-Aircraft Missile, when the Soviets removed the
ballistic missiles whose deployment in Cuba had triggered the nuclear
crisis, they also withdrew most of the S-75 surface-to-air missiles –
but agreed to leave behind 24 S-75 combat launchers and another six
training launchers.

The Pechora (S-125) is also a Soviet-made surface-to-air missile, but
with a shorter range and lower-altitude capability than the S-75.

North Korea and Cuba, both communist-ruled nations hostile to the U.S.,
have long had close relations. Panama's announcement of the seizure of
the Chong Chon Gang came just a fortnight after Cuban President Raul
Castro hosted a North Korean military delegation headed by the army
chief of staff, Kim Kyok Sik.

Cuba's state news agency at the time quoted Kim as saying the visit had
"allowed him to corroborate the island's success in the defense of
socialism in the face of U.S. aggressions."

At the U.N. in New York, U.S. ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo said Tuesday
the shipment "would be of interest to the sanctions committee" – a
reference to a Security Council sanctions committee set up to oversee
measures contained in resolution 1718 in 2006.

The resolution imposed an arms embargo on North Korea covering all
nuclear, ballistic missile, WMD-related equipment, as well as all other
weapons except for small arms and light weapons, which must be notified
to the committee in advance.

Panama is among the more than 100 countries that have joined the
Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), a plan launched by the U.S. in
2003 in a bid to prevent North Korea and other rogue states from
transferring weapons of mass destruction or related material, by
stopping and searching suspect vessels.

State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell confirmed that Panama was a
PSI member and a "close partner" of the U.S., but said he could not say
whether the U.S. had shared intelligence about the vessel before it was
stopped.

Ventrell commended the Panamanian authorities for stopping and searching
the Chong Chon Gang, which he said had a "well-known history" of
involvement in narcotics smuggling.

According to Maritime-Connector.com Chong Chon Gang is a 9,000-ton bulk
carrier built in 1977 and owned by Chongchongang Shipping Co. of Pyongyang.

Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli said that when officials
detained the vessel in the canal, the ship's crew had tried to resist
officials' efforts to search the ship, and the captain had attempted to
kill himself.

In early 2010 media in Ukraine reported that customs officials had
searched the Chong Chon Gang at a port there, and found drugs –
described as a "heroin substitute" – undeclared alcohol and cigarettes
and ammunition for AK-47 assault rifles.

A report at the time by the UNIAN news agency in Kiev said the ship's
captain had told authorities he had obtained the AK47 bullets from
locals in Somalia, in exchange for food.

Source: "Cuban Missiles Headed for N. Korea Similar to Ones That Shot
Down U-2s in 1960s | CNS News" -
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