(Archived Content)
TG-191
The U.S. Department of the Treasury today targeted North Korea’s missile proliferationnetwork by designating Hong Kong Electronics under Executive Order 13382.E.O. 13382freezes the assets of designated proliferators of weapons of massdestruction and their supporters and prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in any transactions with them, thereby isolating them from the U.S. financial andcommercial systems.Hong Kong Electronics, located in Kish Island, Iran, has been designated for providingsupport to North Korea’s Tanchon Commercial Bank (Tanchon) and Korea MiningDevelopment Trading Corporation (KOMID).
Tanchon and KOMID have also beendesignated by the United States under E.O. 13382 and the UN Security Council under Resolution 1718. The Department of State also today targeted North Korea’s nuclear proliferation network by designatingNamchongang Trading Corporation (NCG), a North Korean nuclear-related company in Pyongyang, under E.O. 13382.
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, 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.
Since 2007, Hong Kong Electronics has transferred millions of dollars of proliferation-related funds on behalf of Tanchon and KOMID. Hong Kong Electronics has also facilitated the movement of money from Iran to North Korea on behalf of KOMID.Tanchon, a commercial bank based in Pyongyang, North Korea, is the financial arm for KOMID - North Korea’s premier arms dealer and main exporter of goods and equipmentrelated to ballistic missiles and conventional weapons.
Tanchon plays a key role infinancing the sales of ballistic missiles for KOMID.Tanchon has also been involved in financing ballistic missile sales fromKOMID to Iran’s Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group (SHIG), which is the Iranianorganization responsible for developing liquid-fueled missiles. SHIG has been designatedunder E.O. 13382 and sanctioned by the United Nations under UN Security CouncilResolution (UNSCR) 1737. Since 2005, Tanchon has maintained an active relationship with various branches ofIran’s Bank Sepah, an entity designated under E.O. 13382 and sanctioned by the UnitedNations under UNSCR 1747, 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.
For additional information on the Department of State’s designation ofNamchongang Trading Corporation, please visithttp://state.gov/press.