JAPAN and the US will ratchet up sanctions pressure on North Korea next week but South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun has refused to endorse the campaign. After a meeting at the White House with President George W.Bush yesterday, Mr Roh expressed "concern in Korea that the US will take further sanctions against North Korea and whether this will jeopardise the chance of a successful six-party process".
Despite Mr Roh's objections, Japan is poised to impose financial sanctions next week aimed at hurting the high echelons of Kim Jong-il's regime. Japan will follow Washington in freezing assets and bank accounts of 12 North Korean or Pyongyang-aligned business groups and an unnamed individual. Officials said other interested governments, including South Korea's and Australia's, would be consulted. It was unclear yesterday whether Tokyo, which has already severely restricted travel and commerce, would extend sanctions to other businesses operated in Japan by pro-Pyongyang Korean residents. |