Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull delivers a speech during the dawn service to mark the ANZAC commemoration ceremony at the Australian National Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux Thomson Reuters By Alison Bevege

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia will send a military patrol aircraft to monitor North Korean vessels suspected of transferring prohibited goods in defiance of United Nations sanctions, Defence Minister Marise Payne said on Saturday. Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan also issued statements saying the aim of Canada’s participation in the operation is to “counter North Korea’s maritime smuggling in accordance with relevant UNSC resolutions.”

Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull confirmed his country’s role in the patrols on Saturday, a day after the eaders of North and South Korea pledged at a historic summit to work for the complete de-nuclearization of the Korean peninsula. U.S. President Donald Trump, who is also set to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in either May or June, has said he would maintain pressure on Pyongyang through sanctions that were imposed in a bid to rein in the North’s missile and nuclear programs. Australia, a staunch U.S. ally, also promised to keep up economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea. The support includes committing a maritime patrol aircraft and approximately 40 personnel to the region to help “ensure effective implementation of UNSC sanctions on North Korea,” according to the statement. Officials in the US said in February that the Trump administration and key Asian allies were preparing to expand interceptions of ships suspected of violating the sanctions on North Korea. It is suspected the ships have been carrying banned weapons and components and other prohibited cargo to and from North Korea, flouting United Nations sanctions. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said today during a televised press conference that the member states hope that “surveillance of the area enables [ship-to-ship] smuggling to be identified and then, of course, those who are a party to that to be held responsible and brought to account.”

In a separate statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan also respond to the Canadian and Australian efforts, saying ”Japan welcomes these activities from the view point of upholding the maximum pressure on North Korea while maintaining the solidarity of international community.” "Japan welcomes these activities from the viewpoint of upholding the maximum pressure on North Korea while maintaining the solidarity of the international community," the Japanese government said in a statement, referring to the aircraft deployments announced by Australia, Canada and Britain.
Australia and Canada deploy surveillance aircraft to Japan to monitor ship-to-ship transfers between North Korean vessels that bypass United Nations sanctions. The aircraft join a warship already deployed by the United Kingdom.