It’s turn into a morning ritual for Royal Canadian Air Pressure personnel primarily based in Okinawa, Japan. A number of occasions every week, round 15 members climb aboard their ageing CP-140 Aurora plane simply after daybreak, depart the U.S. Kadena Air Base on the southern tip of Japan, and start patrolling the waters round North Korea.
Their mission – to implement sanctions concentrating on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program at a time when specialists say dictator Kim Jong Un has by no means been in a stronger place.
North Korea frequently receives unlawful maritime shipments, which give very important assets and income to maintain its ruling regime and advance its nuclear weapons program.
Royal Canadian Air Pressure personnel boarding their CP-140 Aurora plane on the U.S. Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, to conduct patrols round North Korea.
Darren Twiss / World Information
World Information not too long ago joined a patrol on the Aurora plane that first entered service again within the Eighties and is displaying its age. The aircraft’s inside nonetheless incorporates ashtrays and nicotine stains on the ceiling, however the plane has been retrofitted with the newest surveillance cameras and radar know-how, that are used to scan the ocean for suspicious ships and exercise.
“The knowledge that we’re gathering on a day-to-day foundation is tremendous necessary for the allies to interpret, as a way to implement these sanctions,” stated Brig.-Gen. Jeff Davis, Deputy Commander of Pressure Era at 1 Canadian Air Division primarily based in Winnipeg.
Davis has served with the RCAF for greater than 35 years and spent practically 3,300 hours flying aboard the Aurora throughout 5 continents. However this operation is exclusive.
“We use a mess of sensors – from radar to visible to the cameras we’ve got on board,” Davis defined. “And we exit and we attempt to discover these vessels that are in shut proximity to one another and could also be doing ship-to-ship transfers of gasoline.”
A Royal Canadian Air Pressure member data video of a passing ship within the East China Sea as a part of Operation Neon.
Darren Twiss / World Information
Because the Aurora reached its cruising altitude of round 5,000 ft, a few of its crew members pointed cameras out the home windows in direction of the ocean under; others stared at radar screens whereas furiously taking notes.
The East China and Yellow seas main as much as North Korea’s shoreline are huge, spanning a whole lot of 1000’s of sq. kilometres. The area can also be house to one of many world’s busiest delivery routes and the Canadian crew can encounter a whole lot of ships throughout a single flight. Suspect ships have loads of methods to cover and stay undetected, together with by turning off their AIS (Computerized Identification System) transponders and falsifying their registration and logs.
“One of the simplest ways they conceal is simply by pretending to be like every other vessel, as a result of the density right here is sort of excessive, so we solely have a few seconds actually to take a look at every vessel,” defined Captain Monticia Michael, the flight’s tactical commander, initially from Ottawa.
Thankfully, the Canadian crew isn’t working alone. They’re a part of Operation Neon — Canada’s contribution to a multinational effort that features Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, United Kingdom and the USA. They routinely obtain intelligence reviews on particular suspect ships and their approximate location.
The Royal Canadian Air Pressure is participating in Operation Neon, Canada’s contribution to a multinational effort that features a number of allied nations.
Darren Twiss / World Information
On a number of events in the course of the practically nine-hour flight, the Canadians noticed a vessel suspected of transferring provides to North Korea. Every time, the Aurora plane dropped down — to as little as 300 ft above the ocean — to extra carefully {photograph} and report the ship’s exercise.
“This (Aurora) platform is usually used for anti-submarine warfare,” stated Captain Dominick Knerr, one of many aircraft’s pilots from Montreal. “So we’re really utilizing this plane for one thing totally different, which is intelligence gathering. It’s essentially the most distinctive expertise we’ve got.
A Royal Canadian Air Pressure plane flies over a ship throughout patrols imposing UN sanctions towards North Korea October 2, 2025.
Darren Twiss / World Information
“As soon as we collect all the data we want, we’ll simply ship it up the chain to our higher-ups. They usually do what they should do with that info.”
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Their reviews are analyzed by Allied intelligence to find out whether or not sanctions have been violated and, if attainable, to prosecute the businesses or people accountable. However that work has not too long ago turn into tougher on account of Russia’s involvement. As a member of the UN Safety Council, Russia final yr exercised its veto to cancel the renewal of a longstanding UN panel of specialists, which had been chargeable for investigating suspected sanctions violations. The panel usually relied on pictures and intelligence like the type being collected by the Canadian crew.
“We used to get plenty of proof by means of the UN panel of specialists on North Korean sanctions earlier than the Russians vetoed the renewal of that panel’s mandate in 2024 and it was disbanded,” stated Christopher Inexperienced, senior marketing consultant for the Korean Peninsula at Worldwide Disaster Group, a non-profit that conducts analysis on world crises and battle prevention. “Adjustments within the worldwide system, geopolitical shifts have labored 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 despatched 1000’s of troops and weapons to help Russia’s battle machine in Ukraine. In return, Russia has helped North Korea to evade sanctions.
Satellite tv for pc photographs present Russia has additionally offered North Korea with greater than 1,000,000 barrels of oil since March 2024. U.S. and South Korean intelligence assessments additionally point out that Russia is now passing subtle applied sciences to North Korea, together with missile steering, air-defense methods and satellite tv for pc launch capabilities.
“Kim Jong Un is firmly in energy, maybe extra so now than he’s ever been,” stated Jonathan Corrado, coverage director at The Korea Society, a U.S.-based non-profit. “By supporting Russia’s battle towards Ukraine, he has unlocked the power not solely to proceed defying sanctions, however to develop his nuclear weapons capabilities.
“North Korea feels unencumbered, unconstrained, and that might result in some fairly harmful destabilizing behaviours and set a precedent that may have an effect on safety dynamics on the peninsula for many years to come back.”
That Russian help has empowered North Korea to develop and improve its nuclear weapons program, which reportedly contains progress in direction of constructing a nuclear-capable submarine fleet. Final month, North Korea additionally introduced it had performed the ultimate floor check of a solid-fuel rocket engine for a long-range ballistic missile that might theoretically strike the continental United States.
On this screenshot from North Korean state TV, North Korean chief Kim Jong Un, proper, watches a check of a brand new rocket engine at an undisclosed location, North Korea, September 8, 2025.
“North Korea is actively enhancing its nuclear and missile capabilities. It’s opening new enrichment amenities, new rocket engines, nuclear succesful destroyers,” stated Canadian Michael Kovrig, senior advisor with the Worldwide Disaster Group.
Kovrig, who was detained by Chinese language authorities for 3 years as retribution for Canada’s arrest of a outstanding Chinese language tech government, famous that China can also be supporting North Korea’s efforts to evade sanctions and develop its nuclear weapons program.
Beijing has persistently lobbied to dam or dilute new sanctions towards North Korea on the UN Safety Council and has offered diplomatic cowl for Pyongyang’s actions. China has additionally been accused of turning a blind eye to North Korea’s covert delivery networks working from Chinese language ports.
A Chinese language fighter jet intercepts a Royal Canadian Air Pressure patrol plane over worldwide waters Oct. 2, 2025.
Darren Twiss / World Information
Throughout the RCAF patrol flight over the East China Sea, World Information noticed Chinese language fighter jets intercept the Aurora aircraft on three separate events over a number of hours. They tailed the Canadian aircraft at an in depth however protected distance, in response to Brig.-Gen. Davis.
The Canadian crew instructed World Information that these intercepts have turn into an everyday prevalence throughout their patrol missions.
In October 2023, a Chinese language navy jet intercepted one other Canadian patrol flight in what officers described as a harmful and “aggressive method,” coming inside about 5 metres of the Canadian aircraft and prompting an official criticism to Beijing from the Canadian authorities.
“Whereas (the Canadians) are flying across the Korean peninsula, imposing UN sanctions that China as a Safety Council member has agreed with,” stated Kovrig, “the PLA (China’s Individuals Liberation Military) and Air Pressure have threatened and behaved in a hostile method towards these Canadian Air Pressure Pilots.
“That provides you some indications of China’s mentality about this difficulty. And it’s not a promising signal.”
Chinese language President Xi Jinping, middle, and international leaders together with Russia President Vladimir Putin, middle left, and North Korean chief Kim Jong Un, middle proper, stroll to Tiananmen Rostrum forward of a ceremony to commemorate the eightieth anniversary of Japan’s World Struggle II give up in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2025. (Shen Hong/Xinhua Information Company by way of AP).
Chinese language President Xi Jinping not too long ago hosted Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin in Beijing, marking a high-profile show of unity among the many three most closely sanctioned leaders on the earth.
“With out China’s help, neither (North Korea or Russia) could possibly be doing what they’re doing,” Kovrig stated.
