SEOUL: South Korea has sanctioned two persons, three businesses, and 11 ships associated with North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, the foreign ministry announced on Wednesday.
The sanctions declaration comes only days after North Korea launched a new intermediate-range, solid-fuel hypersonic missile, which South Korea and the US harshly condemned as a major breach of UN Security Council resolutions.
Pyongyang has also announced a break with decades of cross-border policy, abolishing some official agencies in charge of inter-Korean relations and designating the South a distinct, enemy state.
The newly blacklisted targets were mostly involved in illegal energy smuggling at sea, according to the ministry.
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Faced with a protracted deadlock at the United Nations, Seoul has resorted to imposing sanctions on Pyongyang, either independently or in collaboration with Washington and Tokyo, in an attempt to limit its financing sources.
South Korea’s military announced on Wednesday that its navy began three-day joint maritime drills with US and Japanese forces on Monday, involving the American aircraft carrier Carl Vinson, to sharpen their reaction to North Korea’s threats.
The three countries’ nuclear envoys are also slated to meet in Seoul on Thursday.
