Seoul fully committed to sanctions on N.K.

South Korea yesterday pledged to fully cooperate with the international community for the implementation of U.N. sanctions on North Korean individuals and institutions.

The United Nations Security Council on Thursday imposed a travel ban on and froze the assets of five North Korean officials for their involvement in Pyongyang`s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

The UNSC also named five North Korean companies and institutions, and two goods subject to sanctions under Resolution 1874, adopted on June 12.

"The government will ban any trade, support and exchange in connection with those individuals and companies," said a Unification Ministry spokesman.

The first-ever sanctions on North Korean personnel came three days before the Sunday deadline for blacklisting North Korean officials, companies and goods under a council mandate. The council adopted a resolution in early June to sanction North Korea for its nuclear test on May 25.



The five officials are Ri Je-son, director of the General Bureau of Atomic Energy; Yun Ho-ji, director of Namchongang Trading Corp.; Ri Hong-sop, former head of the Yongbyon Nuclear Research Center; Hwang Sok-hwa, a senior official of the General Bureau of Atomic Energy, and Han Yu-ro, director of Korea Ryongakan General Trading Corp.

Ri Je-son is said to be in charge of North Korea`s nuclear programs while representing the North in dealing with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Yun Ho-jin was caught smuggling 22 tons of high strength aluminum pipes out of Germany in 2003.

He insisted that the pipes were destined for a Chinese aviation firm, but the IAEA suspected that they might be for centrifuges for uranium enrichment.

Hwang Sok-hwa and Ri Hong-sop are senior nuclear scientists.

Ju Kyu-chang, a member of the North`s all-powerful National Defense Commission, and several other prominent North Korean officials and nuclear scientists, however, were not included on the list -- a possible compromise with China, North Korea`s staunchest communist ally.

Also subject to the sanctions are five North Korean companies and institutions -- the General Bureau of Atomic Energy, Hong Kong Electronics, Namchongang Trading Corp., Korea Kyoksin Trading Corp. and Korean Tangun Trading Corp.

Eight companies are now sanctioned under U.N. resolutions addressing the North`s nuclear and missile tests.

Three North Korean firms, Korea Mining Development Trading Corp., Korea Ryonbong General Corp. and Tanchon Commercial Bank, were listed in late April as targets for financial and trade sanctions after the council adopted a statement against the North`s rocket launch earlier in the month.

Aside from the five North Korean officials and companies, the council also banned the trade to and from North Korea of graphite for electrical discharge machining and aramid fiber, used in nuclear weapons and missiles.

Fazli Corman, chairman of the DPRK sanctions committee and U.N. ambassador of Turkey, told reporters Thursday that these sanctions were "carefully targeted at only those individuals responsible for the DPRK`s ballistic missile, nuclear and other WMD related programs."

"They are designed to minimize any unintended humanitarian consequences on the people of the DPRK," he said.

The Security Council had previously banned all weapons shipments except small arms to North Korea and authorized cargo inspections.

Japanese Ambassador Yukio Takasu called the sanctions" a major achievement," pointing out that Thursday`s decision was "final and formal" and did not require further approval by the Security Council.

Responding to a reporter`s question, Takasu said that "It is very clear that some of the entities have different names, aliases and other things" which will be made public in a relevant Security Council document.

He added that if these entities "just dissolve the corporation name" and create a new one, "obviously the 1718 committee will act, I think, accordingly."

The five North Korean entities newly blacklisted are suspected of involvement in transactions related to WMD or financial transactions for nuclear proliferation.

It is not clear how effective the new sanctions will be on North Korea, already one of the world`s most heavily sanctioned countries.

"The sanctions on personnel should be largely symbolic," said one diplomat, requesting anonymity. "North Korean nuclear scientists rarely travel abroad, and they usually do not have overseas bank accounts."

Pak Tok-hun, deputy chief of North Korea`s U.N. mission in New York, reacted angrily, calling the sanctions "unfair" but saying they would not harm his country.

"You know how many countries have conducted nuclear tests and launched satellites?" he asked. "It is absurd to say some countries can and others should not."

Pak said North Korea "will not accept Security Council resolutions against the North and any sanctions under the resolutions," adding, "Sanctions will not resolve any problems."

He said the sanctions infringe on North Korean sovereignty, but are ineffective.

"We will not be damaged by such sanctions," he said. "We will live our own way regardless of sanctions as we`ve lived under sanctions for more than a half century."

(sophie@heraldm.com)

By Kim So-hyun and news reports