Australia will deploy long-range surveillance aircraft to the Indo-Pacific to crack down on illicit maritime activities that support North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction programs, Japan’s foreign ministry announced Wednesday.

According to a press release, Canberra will deploy the aircraft between early February and early March to monitor ships engaged in “ship-to-ship transfers with North Korean-flagged vessels,” which are generally prohibited under U.N. sanctions. 

Australia has yet to release additional details about the deployment, and the Royal Air Force did not immediately respond to an NK News request for comment.

Japan’s press release states the aircraft will operate out