The Diet cleared a bill Monday that will allow the government to impose unilateral economic sanctions on North Korea to "maintain Japan's peace and security."

The bill, passed at a House of Councilors plenary session Monday evening, enables the government to suspend cash remittances to and ban investment and trade with any nation judged a threat to Japan's security.

The revision to the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law will likely be used to pressure impoverished North Korea ahead of six-way talks over Pyongyang's suspected nuclear weapons program on Feb. 25.