Seoul imposes more sanctions on North over nuclear arms build-up

South Korea has sanctioned eight people and seven companies suspected of illegal activities to finance North Korea's growing nuclear weapons programmes.

The move, which prohibits South Koreans from conducting any type of business with them without authorisation, was largely symbolic as there are little financial dealings between the rival Koreas.

But the steps may still draw an irritated response from North Korea, which last month called South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol and his government "idiots" and a "wild dog gnawing on a bone given by the US" after Seoul said it is considering imposing more unilateral sanctions on Pyongyang.

The South Korean sanctions were announced shortly after the US treasury department said it sanctioned three members of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party who provided support to the country's development of nuclear and ballistic weapons.

South Korea's foreign ministry said Seoul's sanctions were in response to the North's heightening weapons threat, highlightedbylastmonth'stesting of an intercontinental ballisticmissilethatdemonstrated potential range to reach the US mainland.

The eight people and seven companies targeted by Seoul had already been sanctioned by Washington and were involved in a variety of North Korean efforts to evade United Nations Security Council sanctions to finance its weapons programme,includingship-toship transfers of fuel and illegal exports of labour, the ministry said.

Those listed on the sanctions included six officials from four North Korean banks, a Taiwanese national named Chen Shih Huan and a Singaporean named Kwek Kee Seung.

Fourofthesanctionedcompanies were North Korean trade andshippingfirmsandtheother three were Singapore shipping firms.

The ministry said: "[Our] government has been maintaining close coordination with the United States and Japan so that the same individuals and groups are placed together under the unilateral sanctions of related nations to raise the awareness of the international communityandstrengthenthe effectiveness of sanctions."

South Korea imposed sanctions in October on 15 individualsand16organisationsaccused of supporting North Korea's armsdevelopment,whichwere Seoul'sfirstunilateralsanctions on Pyongyang in five years.

North Korea ramped up its weapons demonstrations to a recordpacethisyear,test-firing dozens of missiles including ICBMS, as it exploited the distractioncreatedbyrussia'swar onukrainetoadvanceitsweapons programme and increase pressure on Washington and Seoul.

US and South Korean officials have also said there are signs that the North is preparing to conduct its first nuclear test since September 2017.

That would escalate a brinkmanship experts say is aimed at forcing the United States to accept the idea of the North as a nuclear power, and negotiatingconcessionsfromaposition of strength.

Chinaandrussiavetoedausled attempt in May to toughen UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea over its earlier ballistic tests.