Seoul imposes sanctions against Pyongyang for first time in 5 years

Seoul, Oct 14 (EFE).- South Korea announced Friday its first sanctions against North Korea in five years in response to recent missile launches by Kim Jong-un’s regime.

“The Government of (South Korea) strongly condemns the recent missile provocations carried out with unprecedented frequency, and involving the use of tactical nuclear weapons against us,” a statement from the foreign ministry said, explaining the new punishments.

The new sanctions affect 15 individuals and 16 North Korean entities, according to the text.

Among the sanctioned individuals are up to four members of the Second Academy of Natural Sciences, a North Korean state organization that, according to the United Nations, is responsible for the research and development of advanced weapons. The rest belong to entities dedicated to importing materials that can be used for the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction.

Among the 16 entities mentioned there are logistics companies or companies dedicated to the trade of electronics, steel or crude oil.

The announcement of these sanctions comes after North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile Friday and conducted air exercises near the inter-Korean border, where it also fired hundreds of artillery rounds.

According to Pyongyang, it is a reply to “provocative actions” by South Korea, whose troops, according to the regime, carried out artillery exercises along the border Thursday.

Friday’s launch is Pyongyang’s ninth since Sep. 25, in a succession of tests that have sought to test its tactical nuclear weapons systems in response to recent maneuvers in the south of the peninsula, including those of an American aircraft carrier.

Many analysts believe new North Korean tests are on the horizon, including a new underground nuclear detonation, which would be the first since September 2017. EFE

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