S. Korea urges more global efforts against N. Korea's WMD financing

A top South Korean financial regulator on Tuesday called on the international community to intensify joint efforts to fight against North Korea's financing for its weapons of mass destruction program.

"The steady growth of WMDs has been threatening the whole world. We are facing an imminent nuclear threat from North Korea," Jeong Eun-bo, vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said in a speech at an annual workshop of the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering in Seoul.

"We must urgently build an international system to detect and prevent WMD proliferation and its financing," he added, citing North Korea's repeated nuclear and long-range missile tests.

The communist country is under a wide web of U.N.-led sanctions and also restrictions imposed by the Financial Action Task Force affiliated with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

However, Jeong emphasized, the world "still has a lot more to do."

Many countries have suffered difficulties in implementing regulations under the UN Security Council resolutions and FATF recommendations, he pointed out.

"These countries are calling for technical assistance and domestic political will," he said. "Sharing national experiences in this workshop will improve the implementation of international regulations."

He also stressed the need for strengthening cooperation with the private sector as most WMD-related import, export and financial transactions are carried out through the private sector.

"We should start by setting a good example, as well as providing a list of risk factors and legal duties, to the private sector," he said.

The APG, launched in 1997 in Bangkok, is the FATF's regional body for the effective implementation and enforcement of internationally accepted standards against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

South Korea has played a key role in the field. It has hosted the APG workshop since 2013.

In September, the FATF Training and Research Institute will open in Busan, the nation's southern port city.

This year's APG workshop will be held till Friday, attended by more than 140 officials from 41 member states and dozens of observer nations and international organizations. (Yonhap)