Japan expands ban on North Korea by 2 years

Japan on Tuesday extended by two years its sanctions imposed on North Korea.

The sanctions include bans on the entry of North Korean vessels and trade between the two nations, top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo.

It also applies to those vessels that visit North Korea, Hayasahi said, according to a video record of his news conference.

Tokyo and Pyongyang are entangled in a decades-long tussle over alleged abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korea besides Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development.

The earlier set of sanctions by Japan was due to expire on April 13.

North Korea has been under sweeping UN arms embargoes since 2006 due to its nuclear program, with sanctions repeatedly tightened to restrict nearly all arms imports and exports.

Many individual nations, including the US and Japan, have imposed their own sanctions on Pyongyang.

A UN committee was set up in 2006 to monitor sanctions enforcement, but its mandate expired last year after Russia vetoed its extension.