▲ Plenary meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
North Korea has pushed back against its redesignation by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as a "high-risk country" for money laundering, claiming that it has been making efforts to ensure financial transaction transparency.
In a question-and-answer session with a reporter today (November 6), a spokesperson for North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated regarding the matter that "it was fabricated by the United States and its vassal forces under an impure political objective to 'demonize' (North Korea), and it has nothing to do with us," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
The spokesperson said, "Stemming from our intention to promote the establishment of a sound international financial order, we have held several rounds of negotiations with the organization since 2013 and have taken a series of proactive measures to ensure transparency in financial transactions, including revising and supplementing domestic laws on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism."
The spokesperson continued to criticize, saying, "While persistently ignoring our goodwill and sincere efforts, the international financial supervisory body has annually staged the charade of designating our country as a 'high-risk country threatening the international financial system' and a 'jurisdiction subject to a call for action,' and in 2024 even went so far as to strip our observer status in the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering."
The spokesperson denounced, "The main culprits encouraging all kinds of criminal acts today, such as money laundering, terrorism, drug trafficking, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, are the United States and Western forces, who do not hesitate to infringe upon the sovereignty and territorial integrity of sovereign states to realize their ambitions for hegemony, causing social instability and chaos across the world."
They added, "We will never tolerate even the slightest attempt to infringe upon the nation's dignity and interests, and we will continue to actively join the righteous efforts of the international community to establish a fair international order."
Earlier, the FATF held its first plenary meeting of the 35th cycle at the OECD headquarters in Paris, France, from October 26 to 30, and decided to maintain North Korea's status as a "high-risk country" (blacklist).
The FATF evaluates countries' implementation of international standards against money laundering and terrorist financing.
North Korea has been classified as a high-risk country from 2011 to the present.
(Photo: Capture from FATF website, Yonhap News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.