The government decided Tuesday to further expand sanctions on North Korea to rein in its nuclear and missile programs, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet approving the freezing of assets linked to 35 more entities and individuals.
The approval came a day after Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to maximize pressure on Pyongyang in their summit talks in Tokyo. Abe announced the plan in a joint news conference after the meeting.
Subject to the fresh sanctions are nine entities and 26 individuals, including some based in China, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Libya, according to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.
The top government spokesman underlined the necessity for the new measures, telling a news conference, “We absolutely cannot tolerate North Korea’s behavior as it has repeated provocative acts in defiance of a series of warnings from the international community.”
Tokyo has so far frozen the assets of organizations and individuals associated with Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile development projects, exports of coal and other minerals, and the dispatch of North Korean laborers to other countries.
The sanctions are designed to deal an economic blow to North Korea by restricting the movement of people, materials and money to and from the country.