KOBE (Kyodo) A Kyoto Prefecture trading house president who has been convicted of illegally shipping products to North Korea received an e-mail from an unidentified North Korean in April asking for delivery of a reagent to check for adverse effects from radioactivity, investigative sources said Tuesday.
The sources said the Hyogo Prefectural Police, who arrested the 50-year-old man in May, are trying to identify who sent the e-mail, suspecting the request could be related to North Korea's nuclear test that was conducted a month later.
The president declined the request, the sources said.
He was given a suspended three-year prison term by the Kobe District Court in August for attempting to export to North Korea via South Korea two large tank trucks in January 2008 without obtaining permission from the trade minister.
Exports of such trucks from Japan are restricted under the foreign exchange and trade law because they can be converted into military equipment, including vehicles for transporting and launching missiles. Traders must apply for permission to export products that can be converted for military use.