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

Panama stopped the ship last week and seized its cargo after a stand-off with the North Korean crew in which the captain tried to slit his own throat. Authorities discovered missile equipment,聽MiG聽fighter jets and other arms aboard that聽Cuba聽said were "obsolete" Soviet-era weapons being sent to聽North Korea聽for repair.

"It's going to be transferred to the U.N.聽Security Council. They will decide what to do," Panamanian Security Minister Jose Raul Mulino said in Panama City.

Five U.N. investigators, including one from the Security Council, are expected to arrive around the beginning of August once the ship, the聽Chong Chon Gang, has been unloaded,聽Panamanian government聽officials said.

The聽North Korean government聽urged Panama聽to release the ship and its crew, who were detained and are in the process of being charged for failing to declare the arms on board.

"This cargo is nothing but aging weapons, which are to send back to聽Cuba聽after overhauling them according to a legitimate contract," a聽North Korean Foreign Ministry聽spokesman was quoted as saying by the official KCNA news agency.

The incident has not derailed U.S.-Cuban talks on migration, which went ahead as scheduled on Wednesday, but U.S. officials said Washington would raise the issue of the ship with聽Cuba聽very soon. One senior U.S. lawmaker called the matter a "grave violation of international treaties."

The聽United Nations聽has imposed various sanctions on聽Pyongyang, including strict regulations on arms shipments, for flouting measures aimed at curbing its nuclear weapons program.

U.N. Secretary-General聽Ban Ki-moon聽praised Panama聽on Wednesday for seizing the vessel, adding that the U.N. sanctions committee would take up the issue promptly.

About 350 police and border patrol officials were combing through the ship, which has a dead weight of some 14,000 tonnes.

Before their arrest, the ship's crew burned the electrical system to disable it, which slowed the process of unloading it, a聽Panamanian Foreign Ministry聽spokesman said. As a result, it could take up to 10 days to unload the ship, he added.

"This ship was loaded so you can't unload it," security minister Mulino said on his Twitter account.

Two more containers with suspected arms have been found on the ship in addition to the two already discovered.

Access points to the ship's storage areas were all "completely blocked" in breach of international regulations, when Panamanian officials boarded it, Mulino said.

Britain's U.N. Ambassador,聽Mark Lyall Grant, said the ship appeared to have violated the U.N. arms embargo. Britain is a permanent member of the U.N.聽Security Council.

An eight-member panel of experts appointed by聽Ban Ki-moon聽monitors the聽Security Council聽sanctions imposed on聽North Korea.

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

Crew tight-lipped聽

Marie Harf, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, said Panama聽had asked the聽United States聽for technical assistance on the matter, which would be provided. She said Washington would be talking to聽Cuba聽"very soon" about the ship.

A State Department official said the scheduled migration talks with聽Havana聽went ahead on Wednesday as even though the聽United States聽believes聽Cuba聽broke U.N. sanctions, the issues were deemed to be "apples and oranges."

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

Servicing of weapons would also be in breach of the arms embargo imposed on聽North Korea聽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."

U.S. Democratic lawmaker聽Robert Menendez, the Chairman of the Senate聽Foreign Relations Committee, issued a statement condemning聽Cuba, saying it needed very careful monitoring.

"The shipment ... is a grave violation of international treaties," he said. "Weapons transfers from one communist regime to another hidden under sacks of sugar are not accidental ... and reinforces the necessity that聽Cuba聽remain on the State Department's list of countries that sponsor state terrorism."

Hal Klepak, a history professor at the Royal Military College of聽Canada, said聽Cuba聽was "using weapons and equipment of staggeringly old vintage" and that the聽Pentagon聽had long since written off the island as a military threat.

Since聽Cuba's military doctrine was designed to deter any attack, it needs to maintain the arms it has, he added.

"Cuba聽cannot afford to buy anything newer and does not have repair facilities of its own for such needs. Thus if it is not to scrap, for example, the aircraft entirely, it must repair and potentially update them in some areas," Klepak said.

Panama's Foreign Minister Nunez said his country had no problem with聽Cuba聽but had been under a U.N. obligation to stop the North Korean vessel and inspect its contents.

Javier Caraballo, Panama's top anti-drugs prosecutor, said 33 of the 35 crew members had so far been charged with crimes against Panama's internal security for trafficking undeclared arms. All 33 members had invoked their right to remain silent, he added. The government said it aims to charge all the crew.

Separately, IHS Fairplay, which monitors the movement of ships, said it had found another North Korean-flagged vessel made a similar journey to聽Chong Chon Gang聽last year. The O Un Chong Nyon Ho docked in聽Havana聽during May 2012, IHS said.

(Additional reporting by Gabriel Stargardter, Louis Charbonneau, David Adams, Paul Eckert, Marc Frank and Michelle Nichols and Ju-min Park; Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by Claudia Parsons, David Brunnstrom and Stacey Joyce)