Canada will deploy a patrol aircraft to Japan later this month to monitor North Korea’s illicit maritime activities aimed at circumventing U.N. sanctions, Tokyo’s foreign ministry announced on Thursday.

According to a ministry press release, a Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140 Aurora long-range patrol aircraft will operate out of the Kadena Air Base in Okinawa from late April to mid-May, carrying out surveillance of illegal ship-to-ship transfers by North Korean vessels.

“Japan welcomes these activities from the viewpoint of ensuring effective implementation of the relevant U.N. Security Council Resolutions in solidarity with the international community toward the realization of