North Korea designated as a high-risk country for money laundering, “takes measures to ensure transparency in financial transactions”

North Korea objected to being re-designated as a 'high-risk country' for money laundering by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and protested that it was working to ensure transparency in financial transactions.

Regarding this issue, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a question-and-answer session with reporters on the 6th, "It was fabricated by the United States and its followers for the impure political purpose of 'demonizing' (North Korea), and has no connection with us whatsoever," the Korean Central News Agency reported.

The spokesperson said, "Starting with the intention of promoting the establishment of a sound international financial order, we have conducted 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 money laundering and anti-terrorist financing laws."

He continued, "International financial supervisory organizations have ignored our good faith and sincere efforts and are making fun of designating our country as a 'high-risk country threatening the international financial system' and a 'country subject to countermeasures' every year, and in 2024, they even committed an act of depriving us of our observer status as an anti-money laundering organization in the Asia-Pacific region."

The spokesperson criticized, "Today, the main culprits who are promoting all kinds of criminal activities such as money laundering, terrorism, drug trafficking, and dissemination of weapons of mass destruction are the United States and Western powers, which do not hesitate to violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of sovereign countries to realize their hegemonic ambitions and are causing social instability and chaos all over the world."

He said, "We will never tolerate even the slightest attempt to infringe upon the dignity and rights of the nation, and we will continue to actively join the efforts of the just international community to establish a fair international order."

Previously, the FATF held its 35th first general meeting at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) headquarters in Paris, France from the 26th to 30th of last month and decided to maintain North Korea's 'high-risk country' (blacklist) status.

FATF evaluates each country's implementation of international standards on money laundering and terrorist financing. North Korea has been classified as a high-risk country since 2011.