The government will once again ban the South Korean companies operating in North Korea from shipping goods and materials to the North.

The Unification Ministry said that it will receive applications for the shipment of goods and materials to the communist country only until August tenth, after which the ban on such shipments will be reinstituted.

The ministry has temporarily allowed South Korean companies operating in the North to send limited amounts of goods and materials to North Korea due to the damages experienced by the South Korean firms resulting from a trade ban instituted by Seoul.

The South Korean government prohibited all shipments to the North on May 24th as part of punitive actions against Pyongyang for sinking the “Cheonan” naval vessel.