A team of experts from the United Nations have been in Panama collecting extra information about the North Korean ship that was caught trying to sneak military contraband through the Panama Canal last year.

The Voice of America reported Saturday that members of the United Nation's North Korea sanctions committee spent four days in Panama last week to make a case against Pyongyang for the need for further sanctions against the regime.

The ship -- the Chong Chon Gang -- was seized in July of last year for smuggling Soviet-era arms from Cuba in violation of tough UN sanctions banning North Korea from importing and exporting weapons.

The captain and two other officers are still being held in Panama on charges of weapons smuggling.

Arirang news