In what appears to be the opening gambit in what could turn out to be a long, drawn out game of financial and nuclear poker, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has frozen the assets of four entities accused of facilitating the proliferation of North Korean arms and weapons technologies.
The companies targeted for censure are Tanchon Commercial Bank, Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation (KOMID), Namchongang Trading Corporation (NCG) and an Iranian company called Hong Kong Electronics.
According to the Treasury, the stated aim of the asset freeze is to isolate the selected companies from the U.S. financial and commercial systems.
A Treasury press release briefly explained the roles of the various targeted companies. According to intelligence, Hong Kong Electronics has been responsible for transferring funds on the behalf of KOMID, which it calls “North Korea’s premier arms dealer,” and Tanchon Commercial Bank, which is characterized as the “commercial arm of KOMID.” Tanchon has, according to the release, provided financing for sales of missiles by KOMID to Iran.
NCG, meanwhile, has “been involved in the purchase of aluminum tubes and other equipment specifically suitable for a uranium enrichment program since the late 1990s,” according to a U.S. State Department press release also dated June 30th.
Announcing the new measures, which were issued under Executive Order 13382 but are also authorized by UN Resolution 1718, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey commented, “North Korea uses front companies like Hong Kong Electronics and a range of other deceptive practices to obscure the true nature of its financial dealings, making it nearly impossible for responsible banks and governments to distinguish legitimate from illegitimate North Korean transactions.”
He continued, “Today’s action is a part of our overall effort to prevent North Korea from misusing the international financial system to advance its nuclear and missile programs and to sell dangerous technology around the world.”
The measures were not, according to State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly, designed to coordinate with today’s visit of Ambassador Philip Goldberg to Beijing. Ambassador Goldberg was handed the task of ensuring that UN Resolution 1874 is applied in full by all countries earlier this week.
