Japan to extend ban on all trade with N. Korea by 2 years

Japan decided Friday to extend its sanctions on North Korea, including a ban on all trade, by two years amid a series of ballistic missile launches by Pyongyang, the government said.

The Cabinet of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida approved the extension before the expiration next Thursday of the sanctions, which ban trade and prohibit the docking in Japan of any vessels that have called at a North Korean port.

The decision also took into account the lack of progress on North Korea giving up its nuclear and missile programs as well as the issue of past abductions of Japanese nationals by Pyongyang....