What will China say to US ‘blunt’ call to expel North Koreans?
Senior American official also calls on Hong Kong to close regulatory loopholes allowing Pyongyang to fund its nuclear ambitions
Washington has again asked Beijing in “blunt and candid” talks to expel North Korean nationals who the US says are helping Pyongyang fund its nuclear weapons programme, a senior American official said on Wednesday.
In Hong Kong after a stop in Beijing, Sigal Mandelker, US Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said China needed to do more to rein in North Korea.
Mandelker said she also urged Hong Kong officials to plug loopholes in the city’s rules and regulations allowing Pyongyang to breach international sanctions.
But a Commerce and Economic Development Bureau spokesman defended Hong Kong’s regulatory regime, saying it was on par with places such as Britain and Singapore.
Beijing would never enforce the sanctions from the US government, no matter what pressure Washington applied
“[Our] Companies Registry has a robust and efficient supervision system in place,” he said, adding that Hong Kong had strictly implemented United Nations Security Council sanctions.
He said the city’s legislature passed two amendment bills on Wednesday to strengthen the rules and the changes would come into effect on March 1.
Mandelker issued her calls amid suspicion in Washington that China has illegally sold oil to North Korea and international concerns that Hong Kong has become a major source of dirty funds for Pyongyang.
In November, a Hong Kong-registered ship chartered by a Taiwanese company was caught transferring oil to a North Korean vessel in international waters, a breach of UN sanctions against China’s isolated neighbour.
Mandelker said she repeatedly pressed Chinese and Hong Kong officials to ratch up pressure on North Korea to counter Pyongyang’s smuggling and financing.
