Press Conferences

Mr. Toshihide Ando, Foreign Deputy Press Secretary: On June 21 and 22, an incident which is suspected to be illegal ship-to-ship transfers of goods (so-called “ship-to-ship transfers”) by North Korea-related vessels was confirmed.
The summary of this incident is that a AOE 'HAMANA' (Replenishment at Sea Squadron 1) of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) found in the morning of June 21 this year that a North Korean-flagged tanker was lying alongside a small vessel of unknown nationality on the high seas in the East China Sea around 400km south-southeast offshore of Shanghai, and that in the morning of June 22 a North Korean-flagged tanker was lying alongside a small vessel of unknown nationality that might be identical with the small vessel found the previous day on the high seas in the East China Sea around 450km south-southeast offshore of Shanghai, and that after the two vessels separated, said small vessel flew a flag that seemed like Chinese-flag, and following a comprehensive assessment the Government of Japan strongly suspects that they conducted “ship-to-ship transfers” banned by United Nations Security Council Resolutions(UNSCR) on both days.
Japan notified the Security Council Committee established pursuant to Resolution 1718 of this incident and shared the information with the related countries. Japan also expressed its concern to China which could have a relationship to the small vessel of unknown nationality.
The Government of Japan will continue to cooperate with the U.S and trilaterally with the U.S and the Republic of Korea (ROK) to realize the dismantlement of all weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles of all ranges in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner by North Korea, and will collaborate with the international community, including China and Russia, while urging North Korea to fully implement the UNSCR.

Foreign Deputy Press Secretary Ando: Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Kono is visiting Southern Asia from June 21 to June 28. On June 22, he visited Thailand and inspected a factory of a Japanese company located in the Eastern Economic Corridor. From June 22 to June 24, he visited Bhutan where he held a Japan-Bhutan Foreign Minister’s Meeting, made a courtesy call to the King, and to the Prime Minister. From June 24 to June 26, he visited Indonesia where he held a Japan-Indonesia Foreign Minister’s Meeting and made a courtesy call on the President. From June 26 to June 27, he visited Thailand again, where he served as co-chair with the Prime Minister of Thailand and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Palestine at the Third Ministerial Meeting of the Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development (CEAPAD) and in addition held a Japan-Palestine Foreign Minister’s Meeting and a Japan-Thailand Foreign Minister’s Meeting. After he has finished his series of scheduled events, Minister for Foreign Affairs Kono plans to return to Japan on June 28.

Mainichi Shimbun, Tanabe: Regarding the “ship-to-ship transfers,” could you please tell us in a little more detail when you communicated the expression of concern to China, in what form, and what the content of that expression of concern was?

Foreign Deputy Press Secretary Ando: I would like to refrain from commenting on the details.

Kyodo News, Takubo: You said an expression of concern, but did Japan protest or communicate concerns? Which was it?

Foreign Deputy Press Secretary Ando: Japan expressed concern exactly as I said.

Kyodo News, Takubo: You say Japan expressed concern, but this is a little difficult to understand. Please explain a little more.

Foreign Deputy Press Secretary Ando: I mean it was explained to China that Japan has a concern regarding this incident.

Kyodo News, Takubo: Were you communicating with the Chinese government authorities?

Foreign Deputy Press Secretary Ando: I would like to refrain from going into the details.

Kyodo News, Takubo: Is “China” a word that indicates the Chinese government authorities?

Foreign Deputy Press Secretary Ando: That is an acceptable understanding.

Jiji Press, Utsumi: You said the current incident took place over two days. Do you mean that on the first occasion the site was checked on June 21 and subsequently a AOE 'HAMANA' left the scene once and then came back to find the incident occurring again the following day?

Foreign Deputy Press Secretary Ando: I would like to refrain from going into more details than I have explained already. As I explained at the start, in the morning of June 21 it was confirmed that a North Korean-flagged tanker was lying alongside a small vessel of unknown nationality on the high seas in the East China Sea, and the same situation was confirmed in the morning of June 22 as well.