2nd LD Writethru: S.Korea unveils unilateral sanctions on DPRK

South Korea on Tuesday unveiled a package of new unilateral sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) over its latest nuclear test and rocket launch.

The standalone sanctions included a ban on third-country ships having stayed at the DPRK within 180 days from entering South Korean ports, according to the office for government policy coordination which served as a control tower for the unilateral measures jointly drawn up by foreign, unification and maritime ministries.

The entry ban will be also applied to foreign-flag ships actually owned by the DPRK.

Seoul added 30 entities and 40 individuals of the DPRK to the blacklist suspected of having been involved in Pyongyang's weapons of mass destruction development. The list included six entities and two individuals of third countries that support the DPRK's weapons program.

The blacklisted entities and individuals will be subject to restrictions on foreign exchange and financial transactions with South Korean counterparts and the freezing of their assets in South Korea.

Included in the list was Kim Yong Chol, who South Korea sees as having masterminded the sinking of a South Korean battleship and the shelling of a South Korean border island in 2010. Kim now serves as secretary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea in charge of inter-Korean affairs, according to Seoul's estimate.

Restrictions on indirect exports and imports of DPRK products into South Korea will be strengthened, and South Koreans will be advised to refrain from visiting DPRK-run restaurants in overseas to block Pyongyang's foreign currency resources used for nuclear and missile development.

The standalone sanctions came as the DPRK launched a long-range rocket, which was seen by outsiders as a disguised test of ballistic missile technology, on Feb. 7 after testing what it claimed was its first hydrogen bomb on Jan. 6. Enditem