SOUTH Korea said today it has put 15 North Koreans and 16 institutions on its blacklist in its first unilateral sanctions against Pyongyang in nearly five years in response to its evolving nuclear and missile threats, highlighted by unrelenting missile launches and drills by tactical nuclear operation units. 

Those new to the list include officials at shipping firms and organisations related to the Pyongyang’s missile programme, as well as those involved in the procurement of supplies for weapons of mass destruction, according to Yonhap news agency.

“We strongly condemn North Korea for staging a series of missile provocations with unprecedented frequency recently and suggesting the use of tactical nukes against us,” it reported the foreign ministry as saying. 

The new sanctions come as Pyongyang ratchets tensions on the peninsula with a barrage of provocative missile launches in recent weeks amid growing concerns it may soon conduct a nuclear test.

This marks the first time the South Korean government has slapped sanctions on Pyongyang since 2017, following Pyongyang’s sixth nuclear test, Yonhap reported. It is the first set of sanctions against North Korea since the launch of Seoul’s Yoon Suk-yeol administration in May.

The ministry said it would consider slapping additional sanctions on Pyongyang in case it stages further provocations.

“The latest unilateral sanctions hold importance in that (such a measure) was taken for the first time in five years, and this is not the end,” a ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity. 

“We plan to impose additional unilateral sanctions against North Korea’s provocations and to discuss ways to improve the effectiveness of sanctions in close coordination with the United States, Japan, Australia, the European Union, and other friendly countries.”

Those on the blacklist include people from Korea Ryonbong General Corporation, known as a defence conglomerate specialising in acquisition for North Korea’s defence industries, and Second Academy of Natural Sciences, now known as Academy of the National Defence Science, which is responsible for the development of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons.

The institutions, mostly shipping companies, include the Rocket Industry Ministry, Hapjanggang Trading Corporation, Korea Rounsan Trading Corporation, and Pyongyang’s Maritime Administration and Crude Oil Industry Ministry. 

The latest sanctions by Seoul are widely viewed as largely symbolic, as all transactions between the two Koreas have been virtually banned for years. The individuals and entities are already on the blacklist announced by Washington from December 2016 to May 2022, according to the ministry. – Bernama, October 14, 2022.