Australian military plane sent to Japan to help stop North Korean ships

AN AUSTRALIAN military plane is being sent out to monitor North Korean ships, and stop them from evading international economic sanctions.

AN AUSTRALIAN military plane is being sent to Japan to help stop North Korean ships evading international economic sanctions.

The P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft is bound for a US facility in Japan, and will work alongside Canadian military planes to monitor Pyonyang’s vessels on the high seas.

The United Nations has long suspected that North Korea has used illicit ship-to- ship transfers to try and avoid strict sanctions imposed on the country for its nuclear weapons program.

“That is part of our collaboration with partners in that exercise to enforce those UN sanctions, and it’s very important that be done,” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters in Sydney on Saturday.

“What has been occurring is that sanctions have been evaded by transferring materials from ship-to-ship and so obviously being able to surveil - to add to the surveillance of the area - enables that to be identified. “And then, of course, those who are party to that, to be held responsible and brought to account.” The deployment comes a day after historic talks between the leaders of North and South Korea.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met on Friday in the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, seeking an agreement to establish lasting peace.

Mr Turnbull greeted the meeting with caution.

“There have been false dawns before,” he said.

Defence Minister Marise Payne welcomed North Korea’s announcement of a halt to its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons testing, and on work towards the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.

“However, along with our partners, we will continue to apply maximum pressure on North Korea until it takes concrete and verifiable steps to denuclearise,” Senator Payne said in a statement.

Mr Turnbull says US President Donald Trump “absolutely” deserves credit for bringing about the historic Korean summit.

Mr Turnbull says US President Donald Trump “absolutely” deserves credit for bringing about the historic Korean summit.

“I’ve given him that credit because Donald Trump has taken a very, very strong, hard line on the denuclearisation issue and he has been able to bring in the support of the global community and, in particular, China,” he said. “You have to give great credit to President Xi (Jinping) and China for enforcing these sanctions.” North Korea’s economic ties are overwhelmingly with Beijing. China’s preparedness to impose those sanctions has been the critical change that had put the economic pressure on North Korea, Mr Turnbull said. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Australia had played a role in helping to bring about the talks by exerting maximum diplomatic, political and economic pressure to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table. Ms Bishop said North Korea needed to be transparent to ensure that the declaration of peace it signed on Friday was genuine.