Aotearoa is stepping up its monitoring of North Korea including sending Defence Force ships for the first time, the Prime Minister announced on Tuesday.
Christopher Luxon said NZDF personnel will be based in Japan to support the monitoring of sanctions against North Korea, until September 2026, with aircraft to be deployed more often too.
"This increase reflects the importance New Zealand places on collective security efforts that support peace and stability and the international rules-based system in the Indo-Pacific region," Luxon said in a statement.
"It also reflects our opposition to North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, which are a serious threat to stability in the region."
Luxon said such deployments help in deterring North Korea from contravening sanctions.
It comes as Russia's President Vladimir Putin visits North Korea for the first time in 24 years this week, amid growing international worry about the two nations' military cooperation.
Putin's visit follows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un travelling to Russia's Far East for a visit last September.
The United Nations (UN) Security Council has in the past unanimously adopted sanctions against North Korea, which aim to persuade it to stop nuclear testing and to scrap its ballistic missile capabilities.
"The programme of deployments will begin with the tanker HMNZS Aotearoa conducting replenishment operations in the international waters of North Asia in the second half of this year," said Luxon.
The next P-8A Poseidon aircraft will be deployed next year.
While NZDF personnel are in Japan, they'll likely take part in bilateral exercises with their Japanese counterparts, Luxon said.
Aotearoa has been a contributor to monitoring UN sanctions on North Korea since 2018.
