The U.S. government said Wednesday it remains concerned about reports that financial sanctions on nuclear-armed North Korea are taking a toll on humanitarian aid for the country's people in need.
"We're aware of them. That's an issue, of course, we remain deeply concerned about," State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said at a press briefing.
In March, the U.S. designated the North's Foreign Trade Bank for its role in facilitating the communist nation's proliferation activities. The measure was meant to follow up with a new U.N. resolution calling for member states to expand sanctions on Pyongyang in response to its nuclear test in February.
In an unusual move to cooperate with the U.S. initiative, the state-run Bank of China suspended business with the North Korean bank in early May. Apparently, that has further complicated the ability of the Foreign Trade Bank, North Korea's main foreign exchange bank, to access a key financial market.
U.N. aid agencies and other nongovernmental organizations, mainly based in Europe, working to help North Korean people have argued that the sanctions are also hampering their money transfers.
Psaki said the U.S. is still committed to supporting the role of those organizations in providing humanitarian and other critical assistance to the North Koreans. Many of North Korea's 24-million people are said to be suffering from chronic hunger and a shortage of medicine.
The North's regime is primarily responsible for the situation but Washington will continue to search for ways to help people there, Psaki said.
"This is essentially on the plate of the North Korean government, who has made the decision not to provide funding and the necessary aid to their people, which is the reason why this is so necessary from the outside," she said.
"We encourage North Korea to work closely with the international NGO community, international organizations, Europeans and others, to ensure alternate financial services are available so these organizations can continue the important work they are carrying out in North Korea," the spokeswoman added. "We want aid to make its way to the people of North Korea. In addition to encouraging the North Korean government to be helpful, we'll remain focused on seeing what's possible." (Yonhap News)
