Japan and Australia announced new sanctions today against North Korea. Under the new sanctions, Japan and Australia will block fund transfers to and from 11 North Korean companies deemed to be essential to the North Korea’s weapons program.

These actions were based on U.N. Resolution 1695 passed by the U.N. Security Council on July 15. The resolution, which condemned missile tests by North Korea on July 5, called on U.N. member states “to exercise vigilance and prevent . . . the transfer of any financial resources in relation to DPRK’s missile or WMD programmes.”

Japan and Australia included the Swiss firm Kohas AG and its President Jakob Steiger in the newly-announced sanctions. Kohas was sanctioned by the United States in March of this year based on its procurement of weapons-related goods for Korea Ryonbong General Corporation, a North Korean trading company sanctioned by the U.S. and included today in the new Japanese and Australia sanctions. Almost half of Kohas’s shares are owned by Korea Ryonbong.

In response to the sanctions imposed today on Kohas, a Swiss official responded: “Federal authorities are regularly in contact with this firm and have yet to find any evidence that the company violated Swiss exporting rules.” That is perhaps more a reflection of the fact that the Swiss aren’t looking very hard than it is evidence that no violations have occurred.

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