South Korea approves unilateral sanctions against North Korea for the first time in 5 years

South Korea today announced its first sanctions against North Korea in five years in response to recent missile launches by the regime in Kim Jong Un.

“The Government of the Republic of Korea (official name of the South) strongly condemns the recent missile provocations carried out with unprecedented frequency, and involving the use of tactical nuclear weapons against us,” explained a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs detailing the new punishments.

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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 UN, is responsible for the research and development of advanced weapons, and the rest belong to entities that are 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 today launched a short-range ballistic missile 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 yesterday, Thursday.

MORE INFORMATION: North Korea says it has tested nuclear weapons that could ‘raze’ US targets

Today’s launch is Pyongyang’s ninth since last September 25, in what is 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 that new North Korean tests are on the horizon, including a new underground nuclear detonation, which would be the first since September 2017.

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.