The South Korean government threw its weight behind the UN Security Council's additional pressure on North Korea despite a mood of inter-Korean reconciliation.

Last week, the council blacklisted 21 firms and 27 vessels suspected of helping North Korea smuggle oil and coal at sea. One individual was sanctioned as well.


 

It's aimed at curbing the ship-to-ship transfer and the transport of banned materials, a foreign ministry official said.

The move represents "the international community's resolve to faithfully implement the Security Council's resolutions against North Korea," the official said, adding it's the ministry's official position.

On the Panama-flagged tanker KOTI seized at Pyeongtaek-Dangjin port last year over suspected oil supplies to the North, the official said the ministry is reviewing a plan. The ship was included in the new UN sanctions. (Yonhap)