Russia joins international sanctions on N. Korea

MOSCOW, May 30 Kyodo

Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued the presidential decree to implement measures against North Korea for its nuclear test in line with a U.N. Security Council resolution unanimously approved last October, the presidential office said Wednesday.

The presidential decree bans trading with North Korea in materials, goods and technology which could contribute to North Korea's development of weapons of mass destruction-related programs such as those of missiles and nuclear weapons.

It also prohibits exports of luxury goods to North Korea and those to the North from third countries by way of Russia or Russian business corporations.

The luxury goods include furs, brand watches, perfumes, brandy and precious metals, the decree says.

Russia's joining the international sanctions on North Korea is quite logical, the first deputy head of the State Duma international policy committee said in his comments on the presidential decree.

''Pyongyang isolated itself from the world community and tries to develop its nuclear program on its own,'' Leonid Slutsky told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

He believes that Pyongyang's policy is impermissible, as it poses a threat to regional security.

''North Korea's inexpert and ineffective ballistic missile launch proves this,'' he reportedly said. One of the missiles deviated its trajectory and landed in the vicinity of Russian territory.

Pyongyang pursues a consecutive anti-compromise line and Russia's accession to the international sanctions on North Korea is logical, Slutsky was quoted as saying.

COPYRIGHT 2007 Kyodo News International, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning