US puts the squeeze on North Korea’s UN diplomats

The U.S. Treasury Department tightened sanctions against North Korean diplomats to the United Nations, requiring banks to get special permission before granting them accounts, the agency said in a notice posted online Tuesday.

Banks will now have to obtain a special license from the Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) before opening bank accounts, processing transactions or extending credit for North Korean diplomats or their family members.

U.S. officials have long said North Korea uses the bank accounts of diplomats to help Pyongyang conduct business around the world, despite economic sanctions.

Washington has been ramping up economic sanctions against Pyongyang since a nuclear test and rocket launch this year, seen as provocations by the United States and its allies.

[Newsweek]

This entry was posted in DPRK Government by Grant Montgomery.