17 July 2009 / REUTERS, UNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON
The UN Security Council neared agreement on Wednesday on North Korean firms and individuals to be added to a blacklist for involvement in Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs, diplomats said.
Japanese Ambassador Yukio Takasu told reporters "we are very close" to agreement on the expanded sanctions list. Diplomats said a council committee that has been discussing the issue for a month was on target to meet a weekend deadline for completing its task. As diplomats put the finishing touches on expanding UN sanctions, US officials said they had succeeded in increasing international awareness of methods North Korea uses to disguise its trade in illicit weapons as legal business transactions. "North Korea engages in a variety of deceptive financial practices that are intended to obscure the true nature of their transactions," said a senior Obama administration official. A US team is traveling to key world capitals to warn governments and banks that North Korean practices make it "virtually impossible to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate business," the official said in Washington.
