South Korea on Friday announced the first sanctions in five years against North Korea in response to recent missile launches by the Kim Jong-un regime.
“The Government of the Republic of Korea [nome oficial da Coreia do Sul] strongly condemns the recent missile provocations carried out with unprecedented frequency, involving the use of tactical nuclear weapons against us,” South Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement detailing the new punishments.
The new sanctions affect 15 people and 16 North Korean entities, according to the text.
Those sanctioned include four members of the Second Academy of Natural Sciences, a North Korean state organization that the UN says is responsible for research and development of advanced weapons.
The rest belong to entities involved in importing materials that can be used to make weapons of mass destruction.
Among the 16 entities targeted are logistics companies or companies involved in trading electronics, steel or crude oil.
The announcement of these sanctions came after the latest launch by North Korea of a short-range ballistic missile, following air exercises near the border between the two Koreas, where North Korean military forces also fired hundreds of artillery shells. .
Pyongyang said it was a response to “provocative actions” by South Korea, whose troops held drills near the border on Thursday.
Today’s launch is Pyongyang’s ninth since September 25, in a succession of tests of tactical nuclear weapons systems in response to recent maneuvers in the southern peninsula, including a US aircraft carrier.
Many analysts said they believed more North Korean tests were on the horizon, including an eventual underground nuclear detonation, the first since September 2017.
Source: TSF
