 North Korea is rushing to withdraw money from its overseas bank accounts after the United Nations imposed financial and other sanctions for its nuclear test, a report said. South Korea's Dong-A Ilbo newspaper, quoting sources in Beijing, said the North had begun withdrawing funds from accounts in Macau and elsewhere for fear they would be frozen. The paper said funds were being pulled out of almost all the communist state's foreign accounts held either by individuals or trading firms.
| It's awfully hard to engage in any sort of non-criminal trade without a bank account. |
It gave no details.
| The mere threat of sanctions is enough to make the rats scurry ... |
| But when you are one of the rats trying to leave a sinking ship in the middle of the ocean... |
"As the sanctions are in place, the possibility exists. We are trying to verify the news report," a National Intelligence Service spokesman told AFP.
Security Council Resolution 1874 passed last Friday calls on UN member states to expand sanctions first imposed on the North after its initial nuclear test in 2006. It calls for tougher cargo inspections, a tighter arms embargo and new targeted financial restrictions to choke off revenue for Pyongyang's nuclear and missile sectors.
Last week, before the resolution was passed, South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper said Seoul had given Washington details of 10-20 bank accounts held by North Koreans in China, Switzerland and elsewhere. It said the accounts were suspected of being used for transactions related to counterfeiting, drug dealing and money laundering.
| It does make it difficult for the current #1 son to party in Geneva without a bank account... and not every venue takes a forged American Express card. |
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