UN blacklists North Korean state-owned firms

The decision was reached Wednesday in New York by the UN Security Council's North Korea sanctions committee, nearly three weeks after the regime went ahead with the launch of a rocket that it claimed was to put a satellite into orbit.

All 15 members of the committee approved the decision on the sanctions, which included freezing the firms' overseas assets.

China, which is North Korea's sole significant ally, supported the actions against the three firms, identified as Green Pine Conglomerate, Amroggang Development Banking Corporation and Korea Heungjin Trading Company.

The firms were described as "very significant North Korean entities" by Susan E. Rice, the US ambassador to the UN, and were linked to Pyongyang's development of nuclear weapons and missile programmes.

The US, South Korea, Japan and the European Union had initially proposed a list of around 40 North Korean companies that would be subject to the sanctions, although Beijing - which holds a veto in the chamber - insisted that the number be whittle down to three.