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Chinese bank cuts off business with North Korea
By Jun Ji-hye
The Bank of China said Tuesday it has cut off financial deals with North Korea’s Foreign Trade Bank, which the United States added to its own sanctions after the communist country conducted a third nuclear test on Feb. 12.
One of Beijing's largest state-owned banks said, “We notified the North’s bank that its accounts had been closed,” in a statement. It declined to comment beyond that.
The move drew keen attention from the international community as China, the North’s closest ally, has expressed a desire to implement United Nations sanctions, but distanced itself from Washington’s own sanctions so far.
Washington previously accused Pyongyang’s primary foreign exchange bank of financially supporting development of the country’s missile and nuclear programs. The U.S. has been asking Asian countries to follow its own sanctions targeting the bank, and ban transactions with it.
Immediately after the statement was announced, the Obama administration applauded the Chinese move describing it as an “important step” to contain the Stalinist state’s growing nuclear threats, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Seoul also welcomed Beijing’s decision saying it was a “very meaningful measure.”
“Given that the North’s official trade partner has been only China, the measure might be very effective,” said Kim Hyung-seok, a spokesperson for the unification ministry.