China probes North Korea bank suspected of nuclear link

Pyongyang conducted its fifth nuclear test on September 9

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 yesterday.

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 September 9, the White House said last week.

While China is North Korea’s sole major ally, it of its nuclear and

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. disapproves missile programmes.

Top official investigated

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 “dual-use” 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.

The paper did not identify its source, who it said was “well-informed on North Korea affairs”.

In March, after the latest round of UN sanctions, the United Nations extended an asset freeze to all funds held abroad by the bank. The bank branch in Dandong then moved to an office in a building also used by Hongxiang and continued to operate.