The Ministry of Unification said that the latest sanctions will help raise the effectiveness of an implementation of UN sanctions resolutions and raise awareness of the risks of doing business with North Korea.

"By doing so, we believe that the move will help the international community avoid suspicious trade with the North and take cautious stances toward deals with Pyongyang," Baik Tae-hyun, ministry spokesman, told a press briefing.

The imposition of fresh sanctions is largely viewed as symbolic as there would be no actual impact since all transactions have been banned for years between the two Koreas.

Those subject to the latest punitive measures are already blacklisted by the US government.

The previous government of the ousted president Park Geun-hye imposed unilateral sanctions on Pyongyang twice last year in response to the North's fourth and fifth nuclear tests. (Yonhap)