The law allows Japan to impose sanctions on countries without a U.N. resolution. It does not specifically mention North Korea, but lawmakers have said it is aimed at Pyongyang.

Tokyo could use the law to take steps such as banning North Korean imports and freezing remittances from North Koreans living in Japan -- all desperately needed to help the North's devastated economy.

The bill's approval "may bring out a positive response from North Korea" ahead of the Feb. 25 six-way talks on its suspected nuclear weapons program, Vice Foreign Minister Yukio Takeuchi said at a news conference.

North Korea's official media, however, said that the move exacerbated regional tensions over its nuclear program, in a statement attributed to the DPRK-Japan Friendship Association. DPRK stands for Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.

"The DPRK-Japan Friendship Association requests the government of the DPRK not to have any bilateral contact with Japan nor allow Japan to participate in the six-way talks," said the statement, carried by the North's Korean Central New Agency.

It added that North Korea would consider sanctions a "declaration of war."

The Japan Times Weekly: Feb. 14, 2004
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