Seoul 21 July
2010: The US will impose new sanctions on North Korea, following the crisis
over the sinking of a South Korean warship. The move was announced by Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton during a visit to South Korea.
She said the measures would target Pyongyang's sale
and purchase of arms and import of luxury goods, and would help prevent nuclear
proliferation. China has expressed concern over joint US-South Korean naval
exercises, saying they could increase tensions.
An international inquiry blamed North Korea for
sinking the Cheonan warship in March, with the loss of 46 lives, but Pyongyang
has denied any involvement.
Speaking at a news conference in Seoul, Mrs Clinton
said the measures would increase Washington's ability to "prevent North
Korea's proliferation, to halt their illicit activities that help fund their
weapons programmes, and to discourage further provocative actions".
She said the sanctions were not directed at the
North Korean people but at the "misguided and malign priorities of their
government".
Mrs Clinton said she expected North Korea to
"take certain steps that would acknowledge their responsibility" for
the incident and to move towards denuclearisation.
"They know very well that they made commitments
over the last years to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula which they
have reneged on and which we expect them to once again adhere to," she
told reporters. "We are looking for irreversible denuclearisation."
The announcement came after Mrs Clinton and US
Defence Secretary Robert Gates visited the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) between
North and South Korea, in a show of support for Seoul following the sinking of
the Cheonan in March. Reuters
