ID :
57147
Fri, 04/24/2009 - 07:10
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/57147
The shortlink copeid
3-4 N. Korean entities might be subject to U.N. asset freeze+
NEW YORK, April 23 Kyodo - Three or four North Korean entities, including a trade firm and a bank, might be designated by the United Nations for an asset freeze as part of U.N. sanctions against the country over its recent rocket launch, diplomatic sources at the world body said Thursday.
The North Korean entities include Korea Mining Development Trading Corp. and
Tanchon Commercial Bank, which are believed to have taken on an important role
in North Korea's nuclear and missile development. It would be the first time
the United Nations has designated the freezing of assets of North Korean
entities.
According to the sources, Japan and the United States presented their
respective lists of 10-14 North Korean companies and other organizations to be
subject to the sanctions during a meeting of a U.N. sanctions committee on
April 15, but China and Russia opposed them, saying the number was too high.
The committee then agreed to reduce the number to three or four, but China was
still resisting including some of those entities on the list, so the number may
be reduced even further, the sources said.
The sanctions committee, which is scheduled to meet later in the day, is
supposed to submit a list by Friday in accordance with a presidential statement
the U.N. Security Council adopted April 13 as a response to North Korea's April
5 rocket launch.
If the list is formally approved, Japan and the United States would see some
progress in their calls to strengthen U.N. sanctions against the reclusive
country.
While Pyongyang maintains that what it launched was a satellite-carrying
rocket, many other countries believe it was a disguised test-firing of a
long-range ballistic missile. The Security Council statement condemned the
launch as a violation of Resolution 1718 banning North Korea from all missile
activities.
If the United Nations designates any entity as subject to asset freezing, its
member nations must freeze the entity's bank accounts in their respective
nations and cannot trade with it.
==Kyodo
The North Korean entities include Korea Mining Development Trading Corp. and
Tanchon Commercial Bank, which are believed to have taken on an important role
in North Korea's nuclear and missile development. It would be the first time
the United Nations has designated the freezing of assets of North Korean
entities.
According to the sources, Japan and the United States presented their
respective lists of 10-14 North Korean companies and other organizations to be
subject to the sanctions during a meeting of a U.N. sanctions committee on
April 15, but China and Russia opposed them, saying the number was too high.
The committee then agreed to reduce the number to three or four, but China was
still resisting including some of those entities on the list, so the number may
be reduced even further, the sources said.
The sanctions committee, which is scheduled to meet later in the day, is
supposed to submit a list by Friday in accordance with a presidential statement
the U.N. Security Council adopted April 13 as a response to North Korea's April
5 rocket launch.
If the list is formally approved, Japan and the United States would see some
progress in their calls to strengthen U.N. sanctions against the reclusive
country.
While Pyongyang maintains that what it launched was a satellite-carrying
rocket, many other countries believe it was a disguised test-firing of a
long-range ballistic missile. The Security Council statement condemned the
launch as a violation of Resolution 1718 banning North Korea from all missile
activities.
If the United Nations designates any entity as subject to asset freezing, its
member nations must freeze the entity's bank accounts in their respective
nations and cannot trade with it.
==Kyodo
