Two Singapore companies accused of violating UN sanctions by supplying luxury goods to North Korea had been trading with the country since the mid-2000s, and one had employed North Koreans before the sanctions kicked in, a lawyer for the companies told The Straits Times yesterday.

The goods traded included food items, beverages, electronics, and Seiko and Citizen watches, said Mr Edmond Pereira, who represents the two companies in question - OCN (Singapore) and T Specialist International.