Iranian firm targeted in N. Korean probe

WASHINGTON, June 30 (UPI) -- The U.S. Treasury Department froze the assets of an Iranian company accused of being a front for North Korean activities.

Hong Kong Electronics in Kish Island, Iran, which started in 2007, transferred millions of dollars of proliferation-related funds on behalf of North Korea's Tanchon Commercial Bank and Korea Mining Development Trading Corp., the department said Tuesday.

The Iranian company was also accused of facilitating the movement of money from Iran to North Korea on behalf of Korea Mining.

Tanchon, based in Pyongyang, was identified as the financial arm for Korea Mining, which, the department said, is North Korea's premier arms dealer and main exporter of goods and equipment related to ballistic missiles and conventional weapons.

The action was taken under an executive order allowing for the freezing of assets of those who spread weapons of mass destruction, a department news release said.

The department said North Korea's Tanchon and Korea Ming have also been brought under the executive order, as well as U.N. Security Council Resolution 1718.

Separately, the U.S. State Department targeted North Korea's Namchongang Trading Corp., identified as a nuclear-related company in Pyongyang under the executive order.

"North Korea uses front companies like Hong Kong Electronics and a range of other deceptive practices to obscure the true nature of its financial dealings, making it nearly impossible for responsible banks and governments to distinguish legitimate from illegitimate North Korean transactions," said Stuart Levey, Treasury's under secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

"Today's action is a part of our overall effort to prevent North Korea from misusing the international financial system to advance its nuclear and missile programs and to sell dangerous technology around the world."