S. Korea, Britain stage joint maritime patrol to enforce N. Korea sanctions

South Korea and Britain wrapped up a joint maritime patrol in waters near the Korean Peninsula on Thursday to enforce U.N. Security Council (UNSC) sanctions resolutions against North Korea, Seoul's defense ministry said. The joint operation, involving a South Korean Navy vessel and patrol aircraft and a British naval ship, began early this month and is said to have monitored the waters for possible illegal North Korean activities, such as ship-to-ship transfers of oil. It marked the first operation of its kind between the two nations after President Yoon Suk Yeol and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak signed the "Downing Street Accord" in London last November, which included conducting such patrols in a series of measures to boost cooperation. "Through this operation, the two countries demonstrated the firm resolve to strengthen and support the implementation of UNSC resolutions against North Korea to restrict the funding of its ballistic missiles and nuclear programs," it said in a release. U.N. Resoluti on 2397, adopted in 2017, allows a country to seize, inspect and impound any vessel within its territorial waters that is suspected of engaging in prohibited activities with North Korea. On March 30, South Korea seized a stateless vessel that allegedly engaged in activities in violation of U.N. sanctions in waters off the country's south coast. Britain was not involved in that operation. Source: Yonhap News Agency