Kuwait plans to end its commercial and financial transactions with North Korea and discontinue the issuance of visas for the North's laborers in compliance with United Nations resolutions, Kuwait's ambassador to South Korea said Monday.

"The (Kuwait) Ministry of Foreign Affairs initiated the formation of a national committee chaired by the concerned government bodies," Kuwait Ambassador to Seoul Bader Al-Awadhi said in a press release on his country's efforts to implement the UN Security Council's sanctions resolutions on North Korea.

He said that the committee has proposed a number of measures to implement the resolutions, including discontinuation of the issuance of entry visas for North Korean workers, as well as commercial licenses for them.


The committee's proposed measures also include ending any commercial activities and financial remittances to North Korea, ceasing loan provisions, stopping all exports from North Korea and reducing the number of North Korean diplomats in Kuwait, according to the ambassador.

"Such measures are ... in accordance with the State of Kuwait's commitment to the resolution of international legitimacy as well as its future commitment when it begins its non-permanent membership in the Security Council early next year," he also noted.

"Kuwait is in contact with concerned bodies in the UN in order to inform them of the steps Kuwait has taken in this regard," the ambassador also added.

He also refuted media allegations indicating that a large number of North Korean laborers are currently stationed in Kuwait under Kuwait visas, stressing that "Kuwait has acted in accordance with its commitment to the resolutions of the Security Council pertaining to the economic boycott of North Korea." (Yonhap)