Japan to Prepare Extra Unilateral Sanctions against N. Korea

Sanjo, Niigata Pref., Sept. 11 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government will prepare additional unilateral sanctions against North Korea following the communist country's nuclear test on Friday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Sunday. "Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has instructed us to make full preparations for unilateral sanctions," Suga said in a speech in Sanjo, Niigata Prefecture, central Japan. "The government will closely cooperate with the ruling bloc on the matter." If North Korea acquires technologies needed to mount nuclear warheads on missiles, that would be a big problem, Suga said, adding that Tokyo will aim to pass a new U.N. Security Council resolution on additional sanctions. Even though Japan will ramp up its sanctions on North Korea, it will keep the door open for dialogue on the issue of Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korean spies decades ago, Suga also said. END