Japan expands ban on N Korea by 2 years

TOKYO  –  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.