China probes bank over suspected links to N Korea’s nuke programme

SEOUL : China is investigating executives of a North Korean bank believed to finance the illicit procurement of arms and materials related to the isolated country’s banned nuclear programme, South Korea’s JoongAng Daily reported on Monday.

China and the United States have agreed to step up cooperation in the UN Security Council and in law enforcement channels after North Korea’s fifth nuclear test on Sept. 9, the White House said last week.

While China is North Korea’s sole major ally, it disapproves of its nuclear and missile programmes. The Chinese-US cooperation includes targeting the finances of Liaoning Hongxiang Industrial, a Chinese conglomerate headed by a Communist Party cadre, that the Obama administration thinks has had a role in helping North Korea’s nuclear programme, the Wall Street Journal reported at the time.

The JoongAng Daily said Chinese authorities were investigating a top official of the Kwangson Banking Corporation at its branch in the Chinese border city of Dandong. The US Treasury designated the bank in 2009 under an order that targets entities supporting North Korea’s arms trafficking because of its suspected involvement in procuring “dualuse” technology with both civilian and military application. “The head of the branch, Ri Il Ho, temporarily returned to North Korea, so the deputy executive is being investigated,” a source told the JoongAng Daily.