Politics

Japan expands sanctions against North Korea after latest missile test

Tokyo, Apr 1 (EFE).- Japan on Friday announced additional sanctions against North Korea, freezing the assets of four entities and nine people involved in the country’s nuclear and missile program.

The four entities, all Russian, have been sanctioned for their involvement in “activities prohibited” by United Nations resolutions on North Korea, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The number of companies and entities affected by sanctions imposed by Japan on North Korea now stands at 60.

Among the nine people sanctioned are three Russian nationals and six North Koreans, some of whom reside in Russia and are linked to North Korea’s weapons development program.

A total of 71 people are now subject to sanctions.

According to the ministry’s statement, the new sanctions are Japan’s contribution “to the international efforts for international peace aimed at solving the problems surrounding North Korea.”

“Japan urges North Korea to take concrete actions toward resolving issues” including its nuclear and missile development programs as well as the abductions of Japanese nationals in the past, top government spokesperson Hirokazu Matsuno said at a regular press briefing on Friday.

The announcement of the expansion of Japanese sanctions on North Korea comes a week after Pyongyang’s latest missile test.

The launch was considered North Korea’s longest-range test in five years and the missile fell the closest-ever to the Japanese archipelago.

North Korea has claimed that its latest test involved a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile, further escalating tensions in the region after a record number of launches so far this year and amid a worsening of the global geopolitical situation due to the war between Russia and Ukraine. EFE

mra-yk/pd/tw

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