North Korea: EU approves tighter sanctions
| Brussels
听governments agreed on Monday to tighten sanctions against North Korea, restricting the country's ability to trade following last week's nuclear test.
The sanctions expand those approved by the U.N. Security Council in January, adding measures preventing trading in North听Korean government bonds, gold, precious metals, and diamonds, EU diplomats said.
"We have pushed for enhancing the sanctions. This is the answer to a nuclear programme which endangers not only the region but the whole security architecture worldwide,"听's Foreign Minister听听said during a meeting with his EU counterparts in听.
The new sanctions ban components that could be used in ballistic missiles such as "certain types of aluminium used in ballistic missile-related systems".
听was widely condemned last week after its third nuclear test since 2006, defying听听resolutions and putting the country closer to a workable long-range nuclear missile.
North Korean banks will also barred from opening new branches in the听听and European banks would not be able to open new branches in the northeast Asian state. Diplomats could not say if North听Korean banks had any branches in the EU
