Egyptian Bank Closes Pyongyang Branch

Egyptian telecom giant Orascom decided on Saturday to shut down a branch of its affiliate bank Orabank in North Korea

The move comes after the UN Security Council imposed fresh sanctions against the regime in response to its latest nuclear test in September.

Orascom, which set up the mobile phone network in North Korea but has a fractious relationship with the regime, said it will stop all financial transactions in the North and shut down the branch.

The Orascom board of directors made the decision on Nov. 28. Orascom chairman Naguib Sawiris flew to Pyongyang on his private jet the day the meeting was held.

Egypt has long had a special relationship with the North, an ally in the Six-Day War, but Pyongyang has been trying to make trouble for Orascom by preventing it from repatriating its profits from the mobile network.

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