New Zealand has deployed a ship to monitor North Korea’s maritime sanctions evasion activities for the first time, adding to growing international efforts to rein in the smuggling activities fueling Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.

HMNZS Aotearoa, New Zealand’s largest-ever military ship, set sail from Japan’s Yokosuka naval base to support the enforcement of U.N. sanctions against the DPRK, the Royal New Zealand Navy announced on social media on Tuesday. 

The vessel arrived in Japan last week after participating in RIMPAC 2024, the world’s largest maritime exercise, which featured more than 25,000 personnel from 29 countries.

The deployment of the HMNZS