S Korea Intensifies Sanctions Against North – Prime Minister Office

Seoul has lengthened the list of the sanctions against North Korea, it contains 38 individuals and 30 enterprises all in all, the South Korean Prime Minister’s office announced Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Seoul has expanded the sanctions against North Korea, with its updated list now including 38 individuals and 30 entities, the South Korean Prime Minister’s office announced Tuesday.

The new measure came a day after North Korea’s warnings of potential preemptive nuclear strikes in response to the start of Seoul-Washington military exercises were made.

South Korea included in the list the organizations and individuals that, it claimed, were involved in the development of weapons of mass destruction, a statement on the prime minister’s website said.

Seoul also bans the financial transactions with the blacklisted individuals and entities and freezes their assets in South Korean banks.

Other punitive "gesture" is the prohibition for the ships that have traveled to North Korea in the past 180 days to enter South Korean waters. Seoul will intensify checks of the imported goods, which could be produced in North Korea as well.

Citizens of South Korea are also not recommended to visit restaurants and other facilities run by DPRK citizens in third countries.

Tensions over North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs escalated after Pyongyang said on January 6 that it had successfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test and put a satellite into orbit on February 7, violating UN Security Council resolutions and triggering condemnation from the international community in both cases.