US welcomes Vietnamese cooperation on North Korean bank accounts

Deutsche Presse Agentur
Published: Thursday September 7, 2006

Hanoi- US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson thanked Vietnam's prime minister Thursday for "cooperation" on requests to close down Vietnamese bank accounts controlled by North Korea. Paulson did not elaborate if the reported North Korean accounts, which would help fund the regime of totalitarian leader Kim Jong Il, had already been closed.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation finance ministers meeting in Hanoi, he said he was "very pleased for their co-operation, with the Vietnamese efforts in keeping their banking system free of abuse by North Koreans or other would-be miscreants."

The United States has accused North Korea of being engaged in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, money laundering and counterfeiting and is engaged in efforts to choke off Pyongyang's money supply.

In July, the US undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, Stuart Levey, visited Vietnam to discuss the reported opening of 10 bank accounts by North Korea in the country.

According to a US intelligence report obtained by a Japanese economics professor, the accounts were opened by North Korea's Tanchon Commercial Bank and Daedong Credit Bank.

The governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, Le Duc Thuy, later told journalists that he had instructed Vietnamese commercial banks to check whether they had any bank accounts controlled by North Korean interests and to immediately close any that they found.

US authorities said the accounts were used to handle the proceeds of business activities by North Korean military organizations, possibly including the sale of drugs, counterfeit money and fake tobacco.

The status of the accounts, when they were opened and how much money was in them, all remain unclear. A Vietnamese spokesman said Thursday that he had "no information" on the case.

The United States has been trying to put financial pressure on North Korea by asking countries around the region to close down its bank accounts and is preparing further economic sanctions on the regime.

Earlier this month, Levey said banks in Singapore, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong and Mongolia were beginning to stop business relations with North Korea.

Regional analysts said they believe Pyongyang still has accounts in Russia but these too are coming under pressure from Washington.

© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agenteur