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Ten companies and individuals added to UN sanctions list for DPR Korea

Ten companies and individuals added to UN sanctions list for DPR Korea

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The United Nations Security Council has imposed sanctions on five companies and five individuals in connection with the nuclear test carried out by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in May.

The sanctions were imposed yesterday by the Council committee set up by a resolution in 2006 which demanded that the country “not conduct any further nuclear test or launch of a ballistic missile,” following its claims to have conducted a nuclear test in October of that year.

Last month, the 15-member Council unanimously adopted a resolution that condemned the 25 May nuclear test conducted in “violation and flagrant disregard” of relevant Council resolutions, a move that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sent a “clear and strong” message to Pyongyang.

It also demanded that the DPRK “not conduct any further nuclear test or any launch using ballistic missile technology.”

The Council imposed a series of measures on the DPRK that include tougher inspections of cargo suspected of containing banned items related to the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile activities, a tighter arms embargo with the exception of light weapons, and new financial restrictions.

Companies added to the list include Namchongang Trading Corporation, which the committee said has been involved in procuring Japanese-made vacuum pumps identified at a DRPK nuclear facility.

Also making the list is the General Bureau of Atomic Energy (GBAE), which is responsible for the DPRK’s nuclear programme, including the Yongbyon Nuclear Research Centre and its plutonium production research reactor, according to the committee.

Individuals targeted by the list include top officials from both the Namchongang Trading Corporation and the GBAE.

The Council committee also singled out two goods – graphite for machinery and para-aramid fibre – for inclusion on the sanctions list.

Last week, the Council expressed “grave concerns” over the DPRK’s 4 July ballistic missile tests, appealing to all parties to refrain from any actions that might escalate the situation and reiterating their commitment to a peaceful, diplomatic solution to the issue.