UN sent N Korea firm 'blacklist'

[News Bot]

By Laura Trevelyan
BBC News, UN




Japan and the US have submitted to the UN the names of North Korean companies they believe to be associated with the country's weapons programme.The list of companies has been sent to the UN's Security Council's sanctions committee for consideration.

The move to enforce sanctions against North Korea follows the country's long-range rocket launch on 5 April.

Diplomats say China, which has a lot of trade with North Korea, will want to study the list before agreeing to it.

The Council is starting the process of tightening the existing sanctions against North Korea.

These sanctions were agreed in 2006, after North Korea tested a nuclear device, but never applied.

North Korean companies suspected of being involved in the government's weapons programme can have their financial assets, like bank accounts, seized if they are held abroad.

North Korea has reacted aggressively to the council's condemnation of its launch, saying it will throw out inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and restart its nuclear programme.

Diplomats say if North Korea carries out its threat and does begin producing weapons grade plutonium, it will have violated a UN Security Council resolution and the debate about what to do will begin anew.

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