A Canadian frigate and reconnaissance aircraft have begun operations in the Indo-Pacific to counter illicit maritime activities that support North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction programs, Ottawa said Tuesday.

According to a defense department press release, Canada has deployed the HMCS Vancouver alongside a CH-148 Cyclone helicopter and CP-140 Aurora long-range patrol plane to “identify suspected maritime sanctions evasion activities, in particular ship-to-ship transfers of fuel and other commodities banned by [U.N. Security Council] resolutions.”

U.N. sanctions enacted in 2017 bar Pyongyang from importing more than 500,000 barrels of refined petroleum per year, but the country likely breaches that