Canadian mission helps implement North Korea sanctions – National | USAEMALL.com

It’s become a morning ritual for Royal Canadian Air Force personnel based in Okinawa, Japan. Several times each week, around 15 members climb aboard their ageing CP-140 Aurora aircraft just after dawn, depart the U.S. Kadena Air Base on the southern tip of Japan, and begin patrolling the waters around North Korea.

Their mission – to enforce sanctions targeting North Korea’s nuclear weapons program at a time when experts say dictator Kim Jong Un has never been in a stronger position.

North Korea regularly receives illegal maritime shipments, which provide vital resources and revenue to sustain its ruling regime and advance its nuclear weapons program.

Global News recently joined a patrol on the Aurora aircraft that first entered service back in the 1980s and is showing its age. The plane’s interior still contains ashtrays and nicotine stains on the ceiling, but the aircraft has been retrofitted with the latest surveillance cameras and radar technology, which are used to scan the sea for suspicious ships and activity.

“The information that we’re gathering on a day-to-day basis is super important for the allies to interpret, in order to enforce those sanctions,” said Brig.-Gen. Jeff Davis, Deputy Commander of Force Generation at 1 Canadian Air Division based in Winnipeg.

Davis has served with the RCAF for more than 35 years and spent nearly 3,300 hours flying aboard the Aurora across five continents. But this operation is unique.

“We use a multitude of sensors – from radar to visual to the cameras we have on board,” Davis explained. “And we go out and we try to find those vessels which are in close proximity to each other and may be doing ship-to-ship transfers of fuel.”

As the Aurora reached its cruising altitude of around 5,000 feet, some of its crew members pointed cameras out the windows towards the sea below; others stared at radar screens while furiously taking notes.

The East China and Yellow seas leading up to North Korea’s coastline are vast, spanning hundreds of thousands of square kilometres. The region is also home to one of the world’s busiest shipping routes and the Canadian crew can encounter hundreds of ships during a single flight. Suspect ships have plenty of ways to hide and remain undetected, including by turning off their AIS (Automatic Identification System) transponders and falsifying their registration and logs.

“The best way they hide is just by pretending to be like any other vessel, because the density here is quite high, so we only have a couple of seconds really to look at each vessel,” explained Captain Monticia Michael, the flight’s tactical commander, originally from Ottawa.

Fortunately, the Canadian crew isn’t working alone. They’re part of Operation Neon — Canada’s contribution to a multinational effort that includes Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, United Kingdom and the United States. They routinely receive intelligence reports on specific suspect ships and their approximate location.

On several occasions during the nearly nine-hour flight, the Canadians spotted a vessel suspected of transferring supplies to North Korea. Each time, the Aurora aircraft dropped down — to as low as 300 feet above the sea — to more closely photograph and record the ship’s activity.

“This (Aurora) platform is typically used for anti-submarine warfare,” said Captain Dominick Knerr, one of the plane’s pilots from Montreal. “So we’re actually using this aircraft for something different, which is intelligence gathering. It’s the most unique experience we have.

“Once we gather all the information we need, we’ll just send it up the chain to our higher-ups. And they do what they need to do with that information.”

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Their reports are analyzed by Allied intelligence to determine whether sanctions have been violated and, if possible, to prosecute the companies or individuals responsible. But that work has recently become more challenging due to Russia’s involvement. As a member of the UN Security Council, Russia last year exercised its veto to cancel the renewal of a longstanding UN panel of experts, which had been responsible for investigating suspected sanctions violations. The panel often relied on photographs and intelligence like the kind being collected by the Canadian crew.

“We used to get lots of evidence through the UN panel of experts on North Korean sanctions before the Russians vetoed the renewal of that panel’s mandate in 2024 and it was disbanded,” said Christopher Green, senior consultant for the Korean Peninsula at International Crisis Group, a non-profit that conducts research on global crises and conflict prevention. “Changes in the international system, geopolitical shifts have worked in North Korea’s favour to undermine the sanctions regime.”

Kim Jong Un’s burgeoning relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin has proved to be a game-changer. North Korea has sent thousands of troops and weapons to support Russia’s war machine in Ukraine. In return, Russia has helped North Korea to evade sanctions.

Satellite images show Russia has also provided North Korea with more than a million barrels of oil since March 2024. U.S. and South Korean intelligence assessments also indicate that Russia is now passing sophisticated technologies to North Korea, including missile guidance, air-defense systems and satellite launch capabilities.

“Kim Jong Un is firmly in power, perhaps more so now than he’s ever been,” said Jonathan Corrado, policy director at The Korea Society, a U.S.-based non-profit. “By supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine, he has unlocked the ability not only to continue defying sanctions, but to develop his nuclear weapons capabilities.

“North Korea feels unencumbered, unconstrained, and that could lead to some pretty dangerous destabilizing behaviours and set a precedent that will affect security dynamics on the peninsula for decades to come.”

That Russian support has empowered North Korea to expand and upgrade its nuclear weapons program, which reportedly includes progress towards building a nuclear-capable submarine fleet. Last month, North Korea also announced it had conducted the final ground test of a solid-fuel rocket engine for a long-range ballistic missile that could theoretically strike the continental United States.

“North Korea is actively enhancing its nuclear and missile capabilities. It’s opening new enrichment facilities, new rocket engines, nuclear capable destroyers,” said Canadian Michael Kovrig, senior advisor with the International Crisis Group.

Kovrig, who was detained by Chinese authorities for three years as retribution for Canada’s arrest of a prominent Chinese tech executive, noted that China is also supporting North Korea’s efforts to evade sanctions and develop its nuclear weapons program.

Beijing has consistently lobbied to block or dilute new sanctions against North Korea at the UN Security Council and has provided diplomatic cover for Pyongyang’s activities. China has also been accused of turning a blind eye to North Korea’s covert shipping networks operating from Chinese ports.

During the RCAF patrol flight over the East China Sea, Global News saw Chinese fighter jets intercept the Aurora plane on three separate occasions over several hours. They tailed the Canadian plane at a close but safe distance, according to Brig.-Gen. Davis.

The Canadian crew told Global News that these intercepts have become a regular occurrence during their patrol missions.

In October 2023, a Chinese military jet intercepted another Canadian patrol flight in what officials described as a dangerous and “aggressive manner,” coming within about five metres of the Canadian plane and prompting an official complaint to Beijing from the Canadian government.

“While (the Canadians) are flying around the Korean peninsula, imposing UN sanctions that China as a Security Council member has agreed with,” said Kovrig, “the PLA (China’s People Liberation Army) and Air Force have threatened and behaved in a hostile manner toward those Canadian Air Force Pilots.

“That gives you some indications of China’s mentality about this issue. And it’s not a promising sign.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping recently hosted Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin in Beijing, marking a high-profile display of unity among the three most heavily sanctioned leaders in the world.

“Without China’s support, neither (North Korea or Russia) could be doing what they’re doing,” Kovrig said.