More than 10 N. Korean firms likely to face U.N. sanctions

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with government official's comments, other details)
By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, April 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea, the U.S and Japan have agreed to a draft
list of North Korean companies to be subject to U.N. sanctions under a 2006
resolution brought back under international scrutiny after the communist nation's
latest rocket launch, a senior South Korean foreign ministry official said
Tuesday.
"We had consultations (with the U.S. and Japan) on the list," the official told
reporters on condition of anonymity, adding there is a consensus among the
countries on the matter.
The official would not provide details before a U.N. sanctions committee
finalizes the list, but a ministry source told Yonhap News Agency that more than
10 North Korean companies are targeted.
The source said the firms to be affected will include Korea Mining and
Development Corporation (KOMID), Moksong Trading Corporation and Sino-Ki, all of
which are already under U.S. sanctions for their involvement in the proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction.
In response to North Korea's latest rocket launch on April 5, the 15-member U.N.
Security Council issued a presidential statement that calls for the
implementation of Resolution 1718 aimed at tightening a wide range of sanctions
on North Korean entities and goods. The resolution was adopted in 2006 after the
North's missile and nuclear tests, but its implementation had been largely
sidelined amid international efforts to denuclearize the communist nation through
negotiations.
The statement requires the sanctions committee to draw up a related list by April
24 for full-fledged sanctions.
"Turkey, which chairs the sanctions committe, is expected to convene a meeting
for related discussions within a few days," the official said.
He stressed that the Security Council's demand in the presidential statement will
be carried out as scheduled regardless of North Korea's response, although the
pace of implementing actual sanctions may be adjusted in accordance with progress
in efforts to resume the six-way talks on the North's nuclear program.
"There can be active contact (among related nations) at a certain point after the
U.N. Security Council's move," he said. "The six-way talks are expected to resume
through the process."
lcd@yna.co.kr
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