Japan would toughen sanctions if N Korea tests

Tokyo, Oct 8: Japan would be forced to raise pressure on North Korea through additional sanctions should the reclusive state carry out a threatened nuclear test, a leading ruling party politician said today.

Tensions have risen following North Korea's announcement last week that it planned to conduct a nuclear test, saying that it had no choice in the face of what it said was a US threat of nuclear war and economic sanctions.

Should Pyongyang carry out such a test, Japan would have to toughen sanctions in response, said Shoichi Nakagawa, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) policy chief.

Tokyo slapped a number of sanctions on North Korea following a flurry of missile launches in July, and last month imposed financial sanctions to effectively freeze remittances and the transfer of financial assets to North Korea by those suspected of links to the development of weapons of mass destruction.

''We'll hold dialogue at any time, but pressure is also necessary,'' Nakagawa told a political talk show on NHK television.

''We've already imposed financial sanctions, but we'd have to raise pressure a level by doing things such as halting imports and exports and conducting inspections of ships at sea,'' he added.

Nakagawa's comments highlighted differences on North Korea between major powers.

Japan and the United States favour a tougher line than nations such as China and Russia, and Kyodo news agency reported yesterday that the former two would press for additional sanctions by the United Nations in the case of a test.

Japan imposed sanctions against North Korea in July that included banning visits by a North Korean ferry long suspected to have been involved in transporting parts for North Korea's missile programme, and halting already rare charter flights.

The financial sanctions imposed last month target 15 groups and one individual, all but one of which are based in Pyongyang and most of which are also under sanctions by the United States.

Trade between the two nations is limited, and consumer reluctance to purchase North Korean goods has further whittled away at those numbers in recent years.

According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei), some 28 per cent of Japan's imports from North Korea in 2005 were seafood such as clams, sea urchin and crab, valued roughly at 34.45 million dollars.

This was followed by anthracite coal at 2 billion yen and matsutake mushrooms -- prized as a delicacy - at 1.7 billion. Other imports include electronic goods and clothing.

The Nikkei reported today that Nippon Steel Corp, the sole importer of anthracite coal from North Korea, has stopped such imports in line with the government's efforts to apply pressure on North Korea in the wake of the missile tests.

Company officials were not available for comment, but the Nikkei said imports were halted in July following the tests as cargo shipments ebbed. A formal decision was made later.

The Japanese government estimates that North Korean exports to Japan totalled some 1.3 billion dollars in 2005, the Nikkei added.

Reuters