Japan to impose new North Korea sanctions

TOKYO, Oct 11 (Reuters) Japan said on Wednesday it would impose new sanctions on North Korea, including a ban on imports from the impoverished communist state, in response to its reported nuclear test this week.

Japan will consider further steps, depending on North Korea's future behaviour and developments in the international community, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki told a news conference.

The largely symbolic gesture, agreed at a meeting of Japan's National Security Council, will be approved by the cabinet on Friday.

The measures, adding to sanctions already in place, also include barring all North Korean ships from entering Japanese ports and prohibiting the entry of North Korean nationals except those residing in Japan unless there are special circumstances.

North Korea's nuclear test announcement, together with its missile development, has ''doubled the threat'' to Japan, Shiozaki said.

''The country whose security is most affected by these actions by North Korea is Japan,'' he said.

''Considering the gravity for our country, we made this decision based on a comprehensive judgment,'' he added.

''Basically, we'll continue with our fundamental stance of dialogue and pressure. We felt we had no choice but to take these steps to get North Korea to return to the six-way talks soon.'' North Korea has boycotted talks with South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia on its nuclear programme since last year.

Japan, which had already imposed sanctions on North Korea after it fired a salvo of missiles in July, has joined the United States in calling for a tough response by the UN Security Council to pressure Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear programme.

A North Korean official told South Korea's Yonhap news agency Pyongyang would consider the imposition of strict sanctions by the U.N. Security Council as ''tantamount to an act of war''.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that besides posing a grave threat to Japan's security with its weapons programmes, Pyongyang had not responded ''sincerely'' to Tokyo's demands to resolve a feud over Japanese citizens abducted decades ago.

''As the prime minister, I am in a position to protect the safety of the Japanese people, and from that standpoint, I cannot tolerate such actions (by North Korea),'' he told reporters after the sanctions were announced.

MORE REUTERS PDM ND2014