Strong sanctions aimed at stifling the North Korean regime were bolstered by a Royal Navy warship.

HMS Richmond, attached to the UK Carrier Strike Group under the command of HMS Prince of Wales, was deployed on various patrols to support United Nations efforts against Pyongyang. The Royal Navy said “focused operations” were completed from early to mid-September, with sailors conducting “monitoring and surveillance operations to report on illicit maritime activities”.

HMS Richmond, Type 23 frigate, during Operation Highmast. | UK MOD Crown copyright

placeholder image — HMS Richmond, Type 23 frigate, during Operation Highmast. | UK MOD Crown copyright

Particular scope was given to watching ship-to-ship transfer of goods with North Korean flagged vessels, prohibited by the United nations Security Council. Several UN sanctions are being upheld against Kim Jong Un’s regime in a bid to stifle its unlawful generation of revenue. It’s hoped the dictatorship’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programmes will be dismantled and throttled due to lack of funds.

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HMS Richmond keeping a watchful eye out for North Korean warships, as they support efforts to uphold sanctions against Kim Jong Un. | Royal Navy

The UK has carried out 14 such operations in the past seven years. These tasks are usually given to HMS Spey and HMS Tamar, which are permanently stationed in the Indo-Pacific. HMS Richmond, a Type 23 Duke-class frigate, recently broke away from the UKCSG to conduct visits to the South Korean port of Busan. Subsequent UN patrols supported Japan’s efforts to gather information on ships suspected of violating UN resolutions.

The Carrier Strike Group has just begun the second half of its global mission and is limbering up for Exercise Bersama Lima 25 around the Malay Peninsula. For more than 50 years, five Commonwealth nations – Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the UK – have pledged to work together under the Five-Power Defence Arrangement to ensure regional security in Southeast Asia.

The nations meet regularly to ensure they can operate effectively together and Bersama Lima 25 is the latest effort involving sea, air and ground forces in a warfighting scenario focused on the defence of Malaysia and Singapore.