Japan sets new sanctions on N Korea

Japan announced fresh sanctions against North Korea yesterday following its reported nuclear underground blast. The sanctions, expected to be approved by the National Security Council Friday, would include barring all North Korean ships from Japanese ports and banning imports, the South China Morning Post reported. Meanwhile, the reclusive North Korean regime said it could hold more nuclear tests in the future. The country's national news agency said pressure from the US to rein in its nuclear programme would amount to a declaration of war. The UN Security Council has yet to reach an agreement on sanctions. The discussions now centre on Beijing's ideas of how strong the sanctions should be.