Japan considers banning N. Korean ships

TOKYO, March 2 (UPI) -- Legislators in Tokyo aim to ban North Korean ships from Japan's ports until North Korea takes steps to resolve its past abductions of Japanese citizens.

The nonpartisan group of lawmakers agreed Tuesday to push for a bill restricting designated foreign ships from entering Japanese ports, Kyodo News reported. The act particularly targets the only direct ferry service between North Korea and Japan.

The group also called on the government to impose economic sanctions on North Korea. Japan amended its Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law last month to allow the government to impose economic sanctions on any country that poses a threat to Japan's peace and security.

Mitoji Yabunaka, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, briefed the group on last week's six-party talks in Beijing on North Korea's nuclear program. He said the government had called on Pyongyang to promptly resume bilateral talks on the abduction issue and other matters.