EU slaps sanctions on additional North Korean nationals

BRUSSELS – The European Union says it has slapped sanctions on nine North Koreans and four entities including the state-owned Foreign Trade Bank, in addition to those already on its sanctions list.

In a statement Thursday, it says the asset freezes and travel bans were added to the EU’s North Korea sanction list to bring the bloc into line with a new U.N. Security Council Resolution.

The resolution was adopted last week in response to North Korea’s on-going development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile activities.

The EU move means that 62 people and 50 entities, like companies, organizations or banks, are now under sanctions in line with the U.N. list. The EU has autonomously slapped restrictive measures on a further 41 people and 7 entities.