The U.N. Security Council committee overseeing sanctions implementation on North Korea officially went into operation as of Thursday afternoon, Japan's U.N ambassador said.

The committee, invoked in the Resolution 1718 on North Korea, was to begin its work as of 3 p.m., Amb. Kenzo Oshima said at the United Nations.

"The experts and capitals needed some time, just a few days, in order to get to the bottom of the issues regarding definition of items and additions and so on and so forth as called for in the resolution," he said.

Japan's representative is the rotating president of the Security Council for the month of October.

"Now, having done that, I think our experts are ready to meet in the committee, and that work will begin at 3 o'clock today," Oshima told reporters.

The committee will have 15 members, representing all of the council members, he said.

The Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1718 on Saturday to condemn and sanction North Korea for its Oct. 9 nuclear test.

Under paragraph 12 of the resolution, the sanctions committee would determine and update materials banned for trade with North Korea and designate individuals prohibited to travel in connection with North Korea's missiles and nuclear weapons.

The committee would report every 90 days to the Security Council with its observations and recommendations.

Thursday's meeting is an experts-level conference to look into preparatory work, Oshima said.

Yonhap News 2006.10.20