The United States on Friday formally
prohibited U.S. financial institutions from opening or maintaining accounts
created on behalf of North Korean banks, extending sanctions imposed on the
isolated Asian country over its nuclear and missile programs.
The U.S. Treasury Department said
North Korea was using front companies and agents to conduct illicit financial
transactions to support the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and to
evade international sanctions.
“Such funds have no place in any
reputable financial system,” Adam Szubin, the department's acting under
secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence said in a statement.
It said that while U.S. law already
generally prohibited transactions with North Korean financial institutions, the
move would support international sanctions and better protect the U.S. financial
system from illicit North Korean activity.
A Treasury Department order requires
U.S. financial institutions "to apply additional due diligence measures to
prevent North Korean financial institutions from gaining improper indirect
access to U.S. correspondent accounts."
The move comes after the Treasury in
June declared North Korea a "primary money laundering concern" and
proposed the steps to further block its ability to use the U.S. and world
financial systems to fund its weapons programs.
Friday's announcement comes as the
United States is pushing for tougher United Nations sanctions against North
Korea after its latest nuclear test on Sept. 9.
China's support is crucial for the
sanctions to be effective but Beijing has appeared to push back on U.S. efforts
to tighten restrictions on North Korean exports.
Beijing expressed concern when the U.S. Treasury plans
were announced in June, saying it opposed any country using its domestic laws
to impose unilateral sanctions on another country.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by James
Dalgleish)
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