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Associated Press

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his British counterpart Theresa May agreed on Monday to work together to thwart ship-to-ship transfers of goods aimed at evading UN Security Council sanctions on trading with North Korea.
Since late January, Tokyo has spotted three instances of cargo apparently being transferred from foreign-registered vessels to North Korean tankers in the East China Sea, in violation of a UN Security Council resolution adopted last September.
During talks via phone, Abe also said it is impossible to hold “meaningful” talks with North Korea without the premise of denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.

He also emphasised the need to continue putting maximum pressure on the country to abandon its nuclear weapons development programme, according to the ministry.
May said she completely agreed with Abe’s views and showed a readiness to cooperate with Japan in addressing North Korea, the UK Foreign Ministry said.
North Korea blasts latest US sanctions as ‘act of war’
The two leaders spoke a day after North Korea expressed – during a high-level meeting with South Korea on the sidelines of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics – a readiness to hold talks with the United States.
On the economic front, Abe appreciated May’s hosting a business round table earlier this month in London for Japanese companies to discuss government support after Britain’s planned exit from the European Union next year, the ministry said.


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North Korea sanctions

UK PM Theresa May and Japanese head Shinzo Abe team up to stop North Korea evading sanctions

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe congratulates speed skater Nao Kodaira in a telephone call from his office in Tokyo on Feb. 19, 2018, on her win in the women's 500-meter race at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics the previous day. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japan's ministry of defence says this February 16 photo shows a North Korean-flagged tanker, Yu Jong 2 (bottom), and an apparent Chinese ship, Min Ning De You 078, appearing to transfer something in violation of UN sanctions on North Korea. Photo: Japanese Ministry of Defence via AP

‘Short of military action’, US and Asian allies seek to wage high seas crackdown on N Korea sanctions evaders

epa06501438 A group of people wave the national flags of South Korea and the United States in front of the North Korean ship Mangyongbong-92 carrying the North's Samjiyon art troupe in Donghae, Gangwon Province, South Korea, 06 February 2018 (issued 07 February 2018), in a show of opposition to North Korea's participation in the PyeongChang Olympics 2018. Against the background is the North Korean national flag. EPA-EFE/YONHAP SOUTH KOREA OUT

(FILES) This combo shows a file photo (L) taken on November 30, 2017 of US President Donald Trump smiling during the 95th annual National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony in Washington, DC; and a file picture (R) released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on January 1, 2018 showing North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un delivering a New Year's speech at an undisclosed location. US President Donald Trump's notoriously threatening rhetoric towards nuclear-armed North Korea -- which has drawn comparisons with Richard Nixon's "madman theory" of diplomacy -- may deserve some credit for bringing Pyongyang to talks, analysts have said. / AFP PHOTO / KCNA VIA KNS / NICHOLAS KAMM AND - / South Korea OUT / To go with NKorea-SKorea-US-diplomacy-politics, FOCUS by Hwang Sunghee ---EDITORS NOTE--- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO/KCNA VIA KNS" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS /

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin speaks during an on camera briefing on the administration’s new North Korea sanctions in the Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, February 23, 2018 . Mnuchin confirmed the sanctions covered "virtually all the ships" North Korea is "using at this moment in time." Trump's administration is locked in a nuclear standoff with North Korea, which is trying to develop missiles that could deliver a nuke to major cities in the United States. The latest sanctions are designed to put the squeeze on North Korea's already precarious economy and fuel supply. / AFP PHOTO / Olivier Douliery