SEOUL, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- The United States has asked for South Korea's cooperation in preventing North Korean financial crimes, but Seoul says no additional measures are necessary.
The U.S. Embassy in Seoul issued a statement Tuesday outlining the findings of U.S. Treasury investigators into North Korea's illicit financial activities, The Korea Herald reported Wednesday.
A team from the Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes unit of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, led by Deputy Assistant Secretary Daniel Glaser, had briefed their South Korean counterparts on the investigation in Seoul on Monday.
The investigators said the Pyongyang government had played an active role in counterfeiting U.S. dollars and money laundering.
The embassy statement said the United States would not lift sanctions against North Korean companies accused of engaging in such activities, and called on the international community to pressure North Korea to put a stop to them.
But Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon told journalists Tuesday that Seoul was already taking adequate measures, and had received no specific request from U.S. officials for additional steps.
Seoul has been reluctant to get involved in the row between Washington and Pyongyang, which has become a major obstacle to the resumption of six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programs.
