Tokyo: Japan decided on Tuesday to extend its sanctions on North Korea for two years beyond the April 13 expiration to keep putting pressure on North Korea to resolve pending issues. The extension was approved at a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said.
According to Kuwait News Agency, "North Korea has repeatedly carried out launches using ballistic missile technology and is strengthening its capabilities. We have also strongly urged the North to return all abducted Japanese (in the 1970s and 1980s) as soon as possible, but the issue has yet to be resolved," Hayashi told a press conference.
"From the perspective of ensuring the implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions, we decided to extend these measures for two years," the top government spokesman said. "We will make the utmost effort to achieve a comprehensive solution to the various issues, such as abduction, nuclear and missile issues, in close coordination with the international community," said Hayashi.
Japan unilaterally imposed the sanctions in 2006 following North Korea's first nuclear test and test-launch of ballistic missiles over the Sea of Japan the same year and has extended them since then. The sanctions ban all trade with North Korea and port calls by North Korean ships except for humanitarian reasons.