Japan navy spots tanker alongside North Korean ship

Japan's Foreign Ministry says a Japanese navy surveillance aircraft has spotted a Dominican-flagged oil tanker apparently transferring fuel to a North Korean tanker in the open seas.

A ministry statement said Wednesday that the possible transfer in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions was observed in the East China Sea on Saturday.

It said Japan reported to the U.N. Security Council the sighting of the tanker Yuk Tung moored alongside the North Korean-registered Rye Song Gang No. 1 before dawn.

It included four photos of the ships alongside each other and then moving apart after sunrise.

The U.S. earlier identified the North Korean tanker as having engaged in illegal offshore transfers.

U.N. sanctions on North Korea limit energy trade and ban transfers of goods to North Korean ships at sea.