Australia, Canada to send military patrol aircraft to monitor N. Korean ships

Australia will send a military patrol aircraft to monitor North Korean vessels suspected of transferring prohibited goods in defiance of United Nations sanctions, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Saturday. Canada also plans to deploy patrol aircraft for such activities, Reuters reports. Surveillance planes from both countries will be based in the US’ Kadena air base on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa, the Japanese government said in a separate statement. The announcements came a day after the leaders of North and South Korea pledged at a historic summit to work for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.