UK Sends Another Warship to North Korean Coast

Western countries and their key Asian allies have deployed naval forces to areas including the Yellow Sea to enforce the trade embargo imposed on North Korea by the United Nations Security Council over its nuclear and missile programs.

HMS Albion with marine commandos on board is sailing to waters off the North Korean coast to enforce UN sanctions and take part in joint drills with Britain’s regional allies, Sputnik reported.

The Albion will join the HMS Sutherland, which has already been deployed to the area.

Britain’s Defense Ministry earlier said that another warship, HMS Argyll, would be dispatched to the region later this year for a series of joint exercises with Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore.

The warships will monitor prohibited sea trade by North Korea which the West suspects of providing a major source of funding for Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile program.

A UN Security Council resolution bans ship-to-ship transfers of goods destined for the North Korean capital Pyongyang, but some vessels have broken the sanctions.

The tensions around North Korea’s nuclear program have remained high over the past year amid Pyongyang’s repeated nuclear and ballistic missile tests in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

As a response measure, the UNSC has introduced multiple rounds of sanctions against North Korea to impede the development of its nuclear program.

The UN Security Council introduced its latest economic sanctions against North Korea in December 2017, banning the export of food and agricultural products, machinery, electrical equipment, and prohibiting Pyongyang from selling or transferring fishing rights.