Post by Sohrat on Jul 1, 2009 7:09:40 GMT 4
The United States ordered Tuesday June 30, 2009 sanctions on an Iranian-based firm for allegedly aiding nuclear-armed North Korea's missile program, and accused the two nations of joint arms proliferation.
The U.S. Treasury identified the firm as Hong Kong Electronics, located in Kish Island, Iran, and said it had been "providing support to North Korea's Tanchon Commercial Bank and Korea Mining Development Trading Corp".
The two North Korean entities have been designated for proliferation by the United States and U.N. Security Council under Resolution 1718, which authorized global sanctions against North Korea and demanded it halt nuclear weapons and ballistic missile activities.
"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," said Stuart Levey, Treasury under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
"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."
A Treasury statement said Hong Kong Electronics has since 2007 "transferred millions of dollars of proliferation-related funds on behalf of Tanchon and KOMID" and has "facilitated the movement of money from Iran to North Korea on behalf of KOMID".
It said Tanchon plays a key role in financing the sales of ballistic missiles and has been involved in financing ballistic missile sales from KOMID to Iran's Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group (SHIG), that was "responsible for developing liquid-fueled missiles."
SHIG has also faced U.N. Security Council sanctions.
The Treasury statement also accused Tanchon of maintaining an "active relationship" with various branches of Iran's Bank Sepah, under Security Council sanctions for providing financial services to Iran's missile program.
"The U.S. has reason to believe that the Tanchon-Bank Sepah relationship has been used for North Korea-Iran proliferation-related transactions," it said.
Tanchon, based in North Korea's capital Pyongyang, is the financial arm for KOMID, which the Treasury said was the hardline communist nation's "premier arms dealer".
In a related move, the U.S. State Department on Tuesday also slapped similar sanctions on Namchongang Trading Corp, a North Korean nuclear related company based in Pyongyang.
The U.S. actions came after an underground test and subsequent missile launches by North Korea prompted the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution that includes financial sanctions designed to choke off revenue to the regime.
It also called for beefed up inspections of air, sea and land shipments going to and from North Korea, and an expanded arms embargo.
North Korea has already vowed to build more bombs and to start a new weapons program based on uranium enrichment in response to the sanctions.
The U.S. Treasury identified the firm as Hong Kong Electronics, located in Kish Island, Iran, and said it had been "providing support to North Korea's Tanchon Commercial Bank and Korea Mining Development Trading Corp".
The two North Korean entities have been designated for proliferation by the United States and U.N. Security Council under Resolution 1718, which authorized global sanctions against North Korea and demanded it halt nuclear weapons and ballistic missile activities.
"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," said Stuart Levey, Treasury under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
"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."
A Treasury statement said Hong Kong Electronics has since 2007 "transferred millions of dollars of proliferation-related funds on behalf of Tanchon and KOMID" and has "facilitated the movement of money from Iran to North Korea on behalf of KOMID".
It said Tanchon plays a key role in financing the sales of ballistic missiles and has been involved in financing ballistic missile sales from KOMID to Iran's Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group (SHIG), that was "responsible for developing liquid-fueled missiles."
SHIG has also faced U.N. Security Council sanctions.
The Treasury statement also accused Tanchon of maintaining an "active relationship" with various branches of Iran's Bank Sepah, under Security Council sanctions for providing financial services to Iran's missile program.
"The U.S. has reason to believe that the Tanchon-Bank Sepah relationship has been used for North Korea-Iran proliferation-related transactions," it said.
Tanchon, based in North Korea's capital Pyongyang, is the financial arm for KOMID, which the Treasury said was the hardline communist nation's "premier arms dealer".
In a related move, the U.S. State Department on Tuesday also slapped similar sanctions on Namchongang Trading Corp, a North Korean nuclear related company based in Pyongyang.
The U.S. actions came after an underground test and subsequent missile launches by North Korea prompted the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution that includes financial sanctions designed to choke off revenue to the regime.
It also called for beefed up inspections of air, sea and land shipments going to and from North Korea, and an expanded arms embargo.
North Korea has already vowed to build more bombs and to start a new weapons program based on uranium enrichment in response to the sanctions.