The Obama administration on Tuesday announced that the United States will exert sanctions on the Korea Kwangson Banking Corp (KKBC) for providing financial services to the nuclear program and the missile program of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Treasury Department accused the KKBC of providing financial services to Tanchon Commercial Bank and Korea Hyoksin Trading Corp., which have been branded by the United States as proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and active roles in the DPRK's missile programs.

"North Korea's use of a little-known bank, KKBC, to mask the international financial business of sanctioned proliferators demonstrated the lengths to which the regime will go to continue its proliferation activities," said Stuart Levey, Under Secretary of the department in the statement.

According to U.S. laws, all the KKBC's accounts or financial assets found in the United States would be frozen and American citizens and firms would be prohibited from doing business with the bank, which is based in the DPRK and has operated at least one overseas branch in Dandong, China.

On June 25, a month after Pyongyang conducted its second underground nuclear test, U.S. President Barack Obama announced that the United States will extend economic sanctions by prolonging the national emergency on the DPRK for another year to deal with Pyongyang's threats.

The president prolonged Executive Order 13466, which was signed by his predecessor George W. Bush on June 26, 2008 over the DPRK's nuclear activities, for another year in order to ensure it would continue in effect beyond June 26 this year.

Under the executive order, which declares the national emergency on the DPRK, the administration could adopt a series of economic sanctions against Pyongyang.

According to a statement issued by the White House, the executive order should be prolonged "because the existence and risk of the proliferation of weapons-usable fissile material on the Korean peninsula continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States."

The administration also voiced to enforce sanctions set in the 1874 UN Security Council Resolution, which condemns the DPRK for its May 25 underground nuclear test that has obviously threatened the Asian-Pacific region's security and stability.

The resolution also banned all weapons exports from the DPRK and most arms imports into the country, authorized UN member states to inspect the DPRK's sea, air and land cargo and required them to seize and destroy any goods transported in violation of the sanctions.

(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2009)