Panama said on Wednesday it had called in the United Nations Security Council to investigate a North Korean ship caught smuggling arms from Cuba, piling more pressure on Pyongyang for a possible breach of U.N. sanctions.

Panamanian Security Minister Jose Raul Mulino said his government had asked the United Nations to advise on the case and that Panama aimed to hand over the ship, the Chong Chon Gang, and its contents to U.N. representatives.

“It’s going to be transferred to the U.N. Security Council, they will decide what to do,” Mulino told reporters in Panama City.

Panama stopped the ship last week and seized the cargo after a stand-off with the North Korean crew in which the captain tried to slit his own throat. Authorities discovered missile equipment and arms on board that Cuba said were “obsolete” Soviet-era weapons being sent to North Korea for repair.

Officials in the United States, which praised Panama’s decision to halt the ship, said Washington hopes to discuss the weapons seizure with Cuba once it has more information.

The United Nations has imposed a raft of sanctions on North Korea, including strict regulations on arms shipments, for flouting measures aimed at curbing its nuclear weapons program.

Earlier on Wednesday, Britain’s U.N. Ambassador, Mark Lyall Grant, said the ship appeared to have violated a U.N. arms embargo on North Korea. Britain is a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.

There is an eight-member panel of experts appointed by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to monitor the Security Council sanctions imposed on North Korea.

The experts are mandated to “gather, examine and analyze information from States, relevant United Nations bodies and other interested parties” on allegations of sanctions violations and report back to the 15-member Security Council.

According to Cuba, the weapons on the ship included two anti-aircraft missile batteries, nine disassembled rockets, two MiG-21 fighter jets, and 15 MiG-21 engines, all Soviet-era military weaponry built in the middle of the last century.

Cuba said the arms were being sent to North Korea for repair, though servicing weapons would also be in breach of the arms embargo imposed on North Korea sanctions.

A U.N. resolution adopted in 2009 says the embargo applies to “all arms and related materiel, as well as to financial transactions, technical training, advice, services or assistance related to the provision, manufacture, maintenance or use of such arms, except for small arms and light weapons.”

Despite Cuba’s possible violation of the weapons sanctions against North Korea, the Obama administration went ahead on Wednesday with scheduled migration talks with Havana.

Even though the United States believes Cuba was in violation of U.N. sanctions, the talks went ahead because the two issues were considered to be “apples and oranges,” a State Department official said.

Panama had asked the United States for assistance with technical experts, which Washington is providing, the official said.

U.S. officials have signaled to Cuba through diplomatic channels that Washington hopes to discuss the weapons seizure issue “once we have more facts from the Panamanians.”

Mulino said Panamanian officials had discovered two more containers with suspected arms, in addition to the two already found. He added that Panama had not spoken to North Korea about the matter.

“We have no relationship with them,” he said.

Mulino said the 35 detained crew members of the ship were likely to be charged with crimes against Panama’s internal security. Panama had attempted to question the crew, but they have not been cooperating, he added.

“They are very reluctant to speak,” Mulino said.

(Reuters)