22 February 2016•Update: 23 February 2016
By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
South Korea warned Monday that North Korea has ways to get around trade obstacles with China, as Seoul has been pushing Beijing to adopt tougher sanctions against Pyongyang in response to the reclusive state’s rocket launch and nuclear test this year.
The South’s Dong-A Ilbo newspaper reported earlier in the day that some Chinese bank branches recently froze North Korean bank accounts, although Seoul’s Unification Ministry cautioned that the move may not be sufficient.
“The North is thought to directly deliver cash or use borrowed-name bank accounts when it comes to its external trade,” asserted ministry spokesperson Jeong Joon-hee during a briefing quoted by Yonhap.
In any case, the newspaper report claimed that North Korean accounts began to be suspended from late last year before Pyongyang’s latest provocations, citing an Industrial and Commercial Bank of China employee based close to the border with the North where most bilateral trade takes place.
That would suggest a link to diplomatic problems between Beijing and Pyongyang, outward signs of which surfaced in December with the unexpected cancelation of planned performances in China by a North Korean girl group said to have been formed by leader Kim Jong-un himself.
Beijing has also been seen this year to be resisting pressure to impose stronger sanctions against the North for its rocket launch and nuclear test, both of which defied United Nations resolutions aimed at curbing Pyongyang’s nuclear weapon ambitions.
Despite its key role with the UN Security Council, China has remained by far North Korea’s biggest trade partner.
South Korea is apparently investigating whether Chinese banks have actually taken the action reported against North Korean account holders.
Pyongyang lost its only recognized revenue stream from the South earlier this month, when the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex was shut down due to the North’s behavior.
