New Zealand proposes to intercept North Korean ships in Pacific Ocean

On September 8, at the annual Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) held in Samoa, New Zealand proposed coordinating to prevent North Korean ships from operating in Pacific waters.

A North Korean ship. (Source: upi.com)

The proposal, supported by all leaders attending the PIF, would help identify North Korean fishing and cargo vessels operating under the flags of small Pacific island nations in these waters.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Gerry Brownlee stressed that all Pacific island nations must be responsible for complying with UN sanctions against Pyongyang and that parties need to build intelligence data systems to identify North Korean vessels to help Pacific island nations not grant them permission to operate in the region.

North Korea has long tried to conceal its ships by registering them with Pacific nations and using a so-called “flag of convenience” system.

For example, in recent years, the North Korean ship Orion Star changed its name several times and flew the flags of Tuvalu, Kiribati and Fiji, before it was blacklisted.

The difficulty here is that vessels linked to Pyongyang may use fake companies to conceal their true ownership./.

According to VietNam +