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The U.S. is set to increase the scope of financial sanctions it is taking against North Korea, according to an Asia specialist with the U.S. Congressional Research Service. Larry Niksch told Radio Free Asia on Tuesday that Washington could take issue with legal overseas accounts held by the North Korean leadership since the Stalinist country is involved in a wide range of criminal activities
Stuart Levey, the under-secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the U.S. Treasury, meanwhile told the Financial Times that the leadership in North Korea probably has "significant amounts" in secret funds spread out in bank accounts across the world. He said the U.S. is advising international financial institutions to keep a close eye on any account related to North Korea.
Niksch said the Treasury investigated not only North Korea¡¯s primary money laundering concern, the Macao-based Banco Delta Asia, but also banks in mainland China in connection with North Korea's illegal financial transactions. While the results were not formally announced, there is a very high likelihood that the mainland banks were implicated in the transactions just as BDA was, he said.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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