(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) TOKYO, Dec 2 (KUNA) -- South Korea unveiled a set of its own punitive measures against North Korea on Friday, blacklisting scores of people and entities suspected of supporting the regime's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The move came days after the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2321 on Wednesday condemning the North's fifth and most powerful nuclear test in September, with the main focus placed on significantly restricting the country's coal exports deemed to be a major source of its hard currency.
"We have expanded the number of those subject to sanctions by adding to the list 35 entities and 36 individuals that are playing a critical role in developing weapons of mass destruction and contributing to the North Korean regime's efforts to secure foreign currency," Lee Suk-joon, the top official in charge of government policy coordination at the Prime Minister's Office, told reporters in Seoul, according to the report.
"The constantly upgraded nuclear and missile capabilities of the North are posing a serious destabilizing factor not just to the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia but also to the whole international community," Lee said.
With the latest action by Seoul, a total of 79 individuals and 69 entities will be subject to sanctions in connection with the North's nuclear programs. The government announced a blacklist in March as a follow-up move to the UN Resolution 2270 adopted in the wake of the North's fourth nuclear test in January. Other prohibitive measures include blacklisting the North's state-owned airline Air Koryo on suspicions that it helps its regime transfer workers abroad, and move cash and other embargoed materials into the isolated country. (end) mk.gta
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