A UK Royal Navy warship has completed focused operations in support of United Nations efforts to enforce sanctions against North Korea.
The Plymouth-based frigate HMS Richmond was deployed to waters surrounding Japan from early to mid-September to conduct monitoring and surveillance of illicit maritime activities.
The operation involved keeping a close watch for ship-to-ship transfers of goods involving North Korean-flagged vessels, which are prohibited by United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The patrols are part of the international effort to uphold sanctions aimed at the dismantling of Pyongyang's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programmes.
The United Kingdom has carried out fourteen such operations over the past seven years. HMS Richmond is currently deployed to the region as part of the UK Carrier Strike Group led by the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales.
The frigate recently broke away from the main group for these UN patrols and a visit to the South Korean port of Busan.
The warship is now set to rejoin the carrier strike group to participate in exercise "Bersama Lima 25" around the Malay Peninsula.
This navy said this long-standing exercise involves the five Commonwealth nations of the “five-power defence arrangement”—Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the UK—and focuses on the defence of Malaysia and Singapore.
