North Korea has expressed strong opposition after being designated as a high-risk country for money laundering at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meeting held in Paris last month. The country has been classified as a high-risk jurisdiction for money laundering since 2011.
The state-run Korean Central News Agency reported on November 6 that a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry stated in response to a reporter's question, "We strongly express our displeasure and firmly condemn the abnormal practices that infringe upon the dignity and rights of sovereign states, which the international financial supervisory organization should contribute to establishing a fair international financial order."
The spokesperson added, "Terms like 'money laundering,' 'terror financing,' 'drug trafficking,' and 'counterfeiting' are fabricated by the United States and its allied forces under a sinister political agenda to demonize the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and they have no relation to us."
They emphasized, "Since 2013, we have engaged in multiple negotiations with the FATF and have taken a series of voluntary measures to ensure transparency in financial transactions, including amending and supplementing domestic laws to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing."
The spokesperson criticized the FATF for repeatedly designating North Korea as a 'high-risk country threatening the international financial system' and a 'target for countermeasures,' while also stripping the country of its observer status in the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) in 2024.
Furthermore, they pointed out, "This clearly shows that the international financial supervisory organization has transformed into a colluding group that cooperates with the U.S. hostile policy toward North Korea, infringing upon our country's legitimate development rights."
They specifically stated, "Today, the main culprits promoting various criminal activities such as money laundering, terrorism, drug trafficking, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction are the United States and Western powers, who unhesitatingly violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of sovereign states to realize their hegemonic ambitions, causing social instability and chaos around the world."
Finally, they warned, "If the international financial supervisory organization abandons its fairness and objectivity as an international body and is misused as a tool to achieve the political objectives of sinister forces, it will not only fail to gain the trust of the international community but will also lose its very value of existence."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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