Japan navy spots tanker alongside North Korean ship

Japan’s Foreign Ministry says a Japanese navy surveillance aircraft has spotted a Dominican-flagged oil tanker apparently transferring fuel to a North Korean tanker in the open seas.

A ministry statement said on the 24^th January that the possible transfer in violation of UN Security Council resolutions was observed in the East China Sea on the 20^th January.

It said Japan reported to the UN Security Council the sighting of the tanker Yuk Tung moored alongside the North Korean-registered Rye Song Gang No. 1 before dawn.

It included four photos of the ships alongside each other and then moving apart after sunrise.

The US earlier identified the North Korean tanker as having engaged in illegal offshore transfers.

UN sanctions on North Korea limit energy trade and ban transfers of goods to North Korean ships at sea.