BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas on Thursday reminded its supervised financial institutions to be extra careful and vigilant when doing transactions with a number of North Korean nationals and entities, in support of a United Nations’ sanction on Pyongyang for its nuclear weapons program and repeated ballistic missile tests.
In a circular signed by incoming Bangko Sentral Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. on May 26, the regulator advised local financial institutions to closely monitor and exercise vigilance on any financial transactions with the individuals and entities previously referred to in a UN resolution 2321 dated Nov. 30, 2016.
“… Please note that the measures imposed under UNSCR 2321 also apply to any individuals and entities acting on their behalf or at the direction, and to entities owned or controlled by them including through illicit means,” Bangko Sentral said.
“The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, in coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs, fully supports UNSCR 2321 (2016) and, within the bounds of banking laws, rules and regulations,” it said.
Bangko Sentral-supervised financial institutions were likewise advised to report to the appropriate supervising department of the Supervision and Examination Sector and to the Anti-Money Laundering Council any known information, such as name, nature of transaction, amount involved, and date, regarding the cited individuals and entities, referred to in UNSCR 2321 (2016).
Resolution No. 2321 was adopted by the Security Council at its 7821st meeting on Nov. 30, 2016. The UN said that proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, as well as their means of delivery, constituted a threat to international peace and security.
The council expressed concern that “the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] has continued to violate relevant Security Council resolutions through repeated launches and attempted launches of ballistic missiles…” adding these activities increase tension in the region and beyond.
The UN urged all its member-states to suspend scientific and technical cooperation involving persons or groups officially sponsored by or representing North Korea.
It said “… all states shall take steps to limit the number of bank accounts to one per DPRK diplomatic mission and consular post, and one per accredited DPRK diplomat and consular officer, at banks in their territory.”
“… Member states shall take the necessary measures to close existing representative offices, subsidiaries or banking accounts in the DPRK within 90 days, unless the committee determines on a case to case basis that such offices, subs or accounts are required for the delivery of humanitarian assistance or the activities of diplomatic missions in the DPRK,” it said.
All member states were urged to prohibit public and private financial support from within their territories or by persons or entities subject to their jurisdiction for trade with the DPRK (including the granting of export credits, guarantees or insurance to their nationals or entities involved in such trade), except as approved in advance by the committee on a case by case basis.
“If a member state determines that an individual is working on behalf of or at the direction of a DPRK bank or financial institution, then member states shall expel the individual from their territories for the purpose of repatriation to the individual’s state or nationality, consistent with applicable national and international law, unless the presence of the individual is required for fulfillment of a judicial process or exclusively for medical, safety or other humanitarian purposes,” it said.
The UN also expressed concern that DPRK nationals are sent to work in other states “for the purpose of earning hard currency that the DPRK uses for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and calls upon states to exercise vigilance over this practice.”
Some of the North Korean nationals mentioned in the Annex I of the UN resolution 2321 dated Nov. 30, 2016 are Pak Chun Il, who served as the DPRK ambassador to Egypt and provides support to KOMID (Korea Mining Development Trading Corp.); Kim Song Chol, a KOMID official that has conducted business in Sudan; Son Jong Hyok, a KOMID official that has conducted business in Sudan; Kim Se Gon, who works on behalf of the Ministry of Atomic Energy Industry.
Information from Wikipedia said that KOMID is North Korea’s primary arms dealer and main exporter of goods and equipment related to ballistic missiles and conventional weapons. KOMID, a North Korean state-owned entity, was previously listed in the annex to E.O. 13382 on July 1, 2005 for its role in North Korea’s proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
KOMID was also sanctioned by the United Nations in April 2009. KOMID has offices in multiple countries around the world and facilitates weapons sales for the North Korean government.
Also included are Kim Chol Sam, a representative for Daedong Credit Bank, who is suspected of facilitating transactions worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and likely managed millions of dollars in North Korea related accounts with potential links to nuclear/missile programs; Kim Sok Chol, a North Korean ambassador to Myanmar; Son Mun San, director-general of the External Affairs Bureau of the General Bureau of Atomic Energy; and Chang Chang Ha, president of the Second Academy of Natural Sciences.
Meanwhile, some of the North Korean entities with frozen assets are Korea United Development Bank, Ilsim International Bank, Korea Daesong Bank, Singwang Economics and Trading General Corp., Korea Foreign Technical Trade Center, Korea Pugang Trading Corp., DCB Finance Ltd., Korea Taesong Trading Co., and Korea Daesong General Trading Corp.
Last Tuesday, North Korea said its latest test of a precision-guided missile was “successful.”Reports said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un supervised the launch of the guided ballistic rocket – the third missile test by the nuclear-armed regime in less than three weeks and carried out in defiance of US threats of military action and UN sanctions.