North Korea Missile Update: Cargo Ship Captain Tried Committing Suicide Before Getting Caught Bring Weapons Past Panama Canal

Panama seized a North Korean cargo ship it suspects was hiding missile equipment in a shipment of brown sugar from Cuba, after a standoff in which the ship's captain tried to slit his own throat, Reuters reports. 

The ship was stopped last week as it headed into the Panama Canal and authorities arrested the crew on Monday after finding undeclared missile-shaped objects - a potential violation of U.N. sanctions linked to North Korea's nuclear program, Reuters also reports. 

"We found containers which presumably contain sophisticated missile equipment. That is not allowed. The Panama canal is a canal of peace, not war," Panama's President Ricardo Martinelli said on Tuesday.

Martinelli also told media there were 35 crew members that were detained with the vessel. 

No information has been released regarding the Cuban government's involvement or lack thereof in the North Korean missile incident.