Japan extends sanctions against North Korea, including a ban on all trade, for two years amid a series of ballistic missile launches by Pyongyang. It is reported by Kyodo.

The government of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida approved the extension of sanctions prohibiting trade and mooring in the country of any ships entering the port of the DPRK..

The decision also takes into account the lack of progress in North Korea's abandonment of its nuclear and missile programs, as well as the issue of the kidnapping of Japanese citizens by Pyongyang in the past..

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North Korea recently test-fired several ballistic missiles, once again violating a UN Security Council resolution, prompting Japan, the US and South Korea to further strengthen cooperation towards the denuclearization of Pyongyang..

Japan has long sought to repatriate its citizens abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s, but there has been no breakthrough so far..

Kishida expressed readiness to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un without preconditions, but the prospect of such a meeting remains unclear..

Japan imposed sanctions on Pyongyang in 2006, banning imports from North Korea and the arrival of North Korean-linked ships..

Since that time, the country has expanded the scope of restrictive measures..

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Earlier it was reported that the United States, South Korea and Japan expressed deep concern about North Korea's malicious cyber activities aimed at supporting its weapons programs..

Cryptocurrency stolen by North Korean hackers was a key source of funding for North Korea's sanctioned weapons programs, US and allied officials and experts say.