North Korean bank accounts under scrutiny
The United States government has made plans to freeze bank accounts which it believes are linked to North Korean transactions.
The assets, involving money in 100 overseas bank accounts, are likely to be needed by North Korean officials to buy luxury goods and operate the regime of Kim Jong-Il.
Major Korean-language newspapers in the South have suggested the asset clampdown began after the March sinking of a South Korean warship, allegedly by a North Korean torpedo.
US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, announced on Wednesday that the United States would impose new sanctions on the North for the sinking and would closely monitor any accounts believed to hold proceeds from arms exporting, counterfeiting, money laundering and drug trafficking.
Most of the accounts are held in South-east Asian banks under false names.
On US notification of North Korean involvement, the banks will be expected to freeze the accounts under United Nations rules.
Source: Europe News.Net
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