Japan considering more North Korean sanctions

Tokyo, Oct 10: Lawmakers in Japan passed a resolution today condemning North Korea's announcement that it had conducted a nuclear test and were considering imposing more sanctions.

North Korea said yesterday it had successfully carried out its first nuclear test earlier that day, and Washington has sought harsh United Nations sanctions, a move also backed by Tokyo.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has just returned from a visit to China and South Korea, said quick action was needed if it turned out a test had in fact taken place.

''Should we confirm this, we need to swiftly take our own tough measures against North Korea,'' Abe told a parliamentary committee.

In a symbolic move, Japan's lower house of parliament unanimously passed a non-binding resolution condemning Pyongyang's actions.

''We, as the only nation to experience an atomic bombing, something humanity should never suffer again, are devoting ourselves to swift efforts to abolish nuclear weapons,'' said senior ruling party lawmaker Ichiro Aisawa in proposing the resolution.

''We sternly protest and strongly urge North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons and nuclear plans.''

Japan imposed sanctions following a flurry of missile tests conducted by North Korea in July, but cabinet ministers said today that further measures were needed. Foreign Minister Taro Aso said, however, that a decision on additional sanctions would have to wait. ''We would like to see proof that such a test took place,'' Aso told a separate news conference, adding that Japan was not yet at the point of considering inspecting ships entering or leaving North Korean waters, a measure proposed by the United States.

Financial sanctions imposed last month, in addition to the July sanctions, effectively froze remittances and transfers to North Korea by those suspected of links to the development of weapons of mass destruction.

A leading lawmaker of Japan's ruling party said on Sunday that fresh sanctions could include halting imports and exports from North Korea, and lawmakers have also said additional financial sanctions could be imposed.

Nippon Steel Corp., the world's third-biggest steel maker, has halted imports of blast furnace fuel from North Korea, a source close to the matter said.

The source said Nippon Steel had been purchasing about two billion yen worth of anthracite smokeless coal a year from North Korea, accounting for more than ten per cent of Japan's total imports from the reclusive communist state.

Nippon Steel was the only Japanese firm importing the coal from North Korea. A company spokesman declined to comment.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki told a news conference today that Japan remained in close touch with other countries in efforts to confirm the test and was also analysing domestic data.

Japan's military deployed several aircraft on Monday to collect air samples for checks on radiation levels, and a government official said Japan's radiation monitors had detected no abnormalities.

Officials and experts have said that even if radioactive material was dispersed by the test, the effect on humans would be minimal.

Reuters

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