SEOUL – Weapons found on a North Korean-flagged ship were being transported under a “legitimate contract”, a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement released by state media in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Panama authorities are having difficulties inspecting the remaining seized cargo on a North Korean-flagged ship after light rain caused sugar––which was concealing Cuban military equipment––to melt, causing thousands of bees to swarm the vessel.

Only one cargo hold has been successfully opened; the sugar was not stored on cargo pallets, Panamanian daily La Prensa said, meaning each sack has to be removed individually.