"These provocative actions, taken with unprecedented frequency, constitute a serious and imminent threat and are totally unacceptable," Matsuno told a briefing.
According to a Japanese Foreign Ministry's statement, the new sanctions list includes Jon Il Ho, the deputy head of the Munitions Industry Department, Kim Su Gil, the former director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, and Yu Jin, a former head of the Munitions Industry Department.
The restrictive measures include a ban on any form of transaction with the three North Koreans and the freeze of all their assets in Japan if found, the statement said.
On Thursday, Japan's Defense Ministry said that North Korea launched a suspected ballistic missile from Sunan District in Pyongyang toward the Sea of Japan. The missile flew for about 70 minutes and presumably landed at 8:19 a.m. local time (23:19 GMT on Wednesday) 125 miles from Oshima Island in Hokkaido, outside Japan's exclusive economic zone. The missile traveled some 620 miles at an altitude of 3,728 miles, according to the Japanese military. The state-run Korean Central News Agency reported on Friday that North Korea test-fired a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday in response to joint military drills, held by the United States and South Korea.
North Korea has repeatedly warned the allies against building up military presence near the Korean peninsula and has criticized US-South Korean joint drills as a preparation for invasion. It has launched several ballistic missiles off the eastern coast since the start of the year.