The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs has banned the export of strategic materials to Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

“As a form of sanctions against Russia, our government has prohibited the export of strategic materials to Russia, strengthening the export verification procedure,” the ministry said in a statement.

The statement said the relevant South Korean departments would consider possible restrictions on non-strategic materials and extension of sanctions against Russia, including 57 items subject to the U.S. sanctions, such as computers, sensors, aviation, space industries, and others.

Western nations have rolled out a sanctions campaign against Russia after it launched a military attack against Ukraine last Thursday.

The Russian defence ministry said the operation was targeting the military infrastructure of Ukraine only and that the civilian population was not in danger.

Far-reaching new sanctions against Russia were announced on Saturday night in a joint statement from the EU, UK, U.S., and Canada.

Having promised to “hit Russia very hard” with a barrage of sanctions, the UK’s first attempt at economic retaliation, presented to parliament by Boris Johnson on Tuesday, was dismissed as the equivalent of taking a “peashooter to a gunfight.”

(NAN)