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UN, US move to increase pressure on DPRK

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-07-16 13:36

UNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON: The UN Security Council neared agreement on Wednesday on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) firms and individuals to be added to a blacklist for involvement in Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs, diplomats said.

Japanese Ambassador Yukio Takasu told reporters "we are very close" to agreement on the expanded sanctions list. Diplomats said a council committee that has been discussing the issue for a month was on target to meet a weekend deadline for completing its task and could do so as early as Thursday.

The DPRK leader Kim Jong-il (front R) visits the newly-built Taedonggang Tile Factory in Pyongyang in this picture released by the DPRK's official news agency KCNA on July 14, 2009. [Agencies]

As diplomats put the finishing touches on expanding UN sanctions, US officials said they had succeeded in increasing international awareness of methods the DPRK uses to disguise its trade in illicit weapons as legal business transactions.

"The DPRK engages in a variety of deceptive financial practices that are intended to obscure the true nature of their transactions," said a senior Obama administration official.

A US team is traveling to key world capitals to warn governments and banks that the DPRK's practices make it "virtually impossible to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate business," the official said in Washington.

Related readings:  UN Security Council condemns DPRK's missile launches  DPRK to attend ASEAN forum: official  DPRK's Kim visits factory in Pyongyang  Chinese, S Korean envoys meet for DPRK talks  US calls for amnesty for American journalists jailed in DPRK

The official said the goal was to bring scrutiny and thwart suspicious activities, not to hit all DPRK's trade. Humanitarian aid would not be affected.

The US-based Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis estimates DPRK earns some $1.5 billion a year from missile sales. Other studies said the figure may be in the hundreds of millions of dollars and prior sanctions have cut into exports.

The DPRK's annual legitimate trade is estimated at about $3.8 billion, with China being its largest partner with exchanges of about $2.8 billion a year. Previous UN sanctions have not dented trade.

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