September 26, 2023
News

Australia to deploy long-range aircraft to monitor North Korea sanctions evasion

Surveillance plane will operate out of Japan and collect evidence of illicit ship-to-ship transfers, Tokyo says

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.