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Japan decides new sanctions against DPRK over nuke test, rocket launch

Xinhua, February 10, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Japanese government on Wednesday decided to impose new sanctions and reinstate some restrictions lifted in 2014 against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) over its recent nuclear bomb test and rocket launch.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said after a meeting of the National Security Council that the government had decided on "firm sanctions measures" against the DPRK, adding that his country will closely coordinate with the international community toward resolving the issues, as well as a bilateral abduction problem.

Top government spokesman here Yoshihide Suga said that the new sanctions include banning the re-entry from DPRK of Japan-based foreign nuclear or missile engineers, banning ships from third countries that have visited ports in the DPRK, as well as banning remittances of over 100,000 yen (about 870 U.S. dollars) to the DPRK in principle, except for humanitarian cases.

The DPRK on Sunday launched a long-range rocket, saying it carried an earth observation satellite, but Japan and the U.S., among other nations, believe the launch was a test of a long-range ballistic missile.

It is the first time since December 2012 that the DPRK has conducted such a test. The DPRK is banned from test-firing any rockets based on a ballistic missile technology under UN Security Council resolutions.

The DPRK also tested its first hydrogen nuclear bomb last month which was also a violation against related UN resolution and was criticized by the international community.

Japan lifted parts of its unilateral sanctions against the DPRK in 2014 since the DPRK agreed to restart investigations on some of Japanese nationals it abducted in the 1970s and 1980s.

The revived restrictions include banning the entry of DPRK-registered ships into Japan, lowering the amount of cash transported from Japan to DPRK that must be reported to Japanese authorities and banning senior members of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan from re-entry after visiting DPRK.

Abe on Tuesday held telephone talks with U.S. President Barack Obama and South Korean President Park Geun-hye separately, agreeing to adopt a strong UN Security Council resolution against the DPRK. Enditem