The United Arab Emirates announced Thursday it would halt the issuance of visas to North Korean workers, as tensions surrounding the country’s nuclear ambitions continue to build.

The move by the UAE follows similar policy changes from Kuwait and Qatar, which already have blocked visas to the country, limiting North Korea’s ability to evade sanctions and make money off the laborers it sends to work in Middle Eastern nations.

The UAE statement said it also would block North Korean companies from operating in any of the seven emirates, and the UAE will end its non-resident ambassador program with North Korea.

The move by the UAE comes after Kuwait, in September, told the North Korean ambassador there he had one month to vacate the country and stopped issuing visas to all North Koreans.

Qatar also has said it no longer would issue visas to North Korean workers.

South Korea and Japan reportedly have been pressuring the Middle Eastern countries to ban North Korean workers, whose income remittances directly benefit the regime of Kim Jong Un.
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