Editor's note: This story was translated from the original VOA Korean article.
A leading financial crime watchdog, The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), has kept North Korea on its list of high-risk countries for the 16th consecutive year.
In the latest update of its "call for action" list, the FATF is urging countries to apply countermeasures, its strongest level of action, citing Pyongyang’s continued efforts to finance its weapons programs. Iran is the only other country subject to the "countermeasures" designation.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) announced the decision in a statement dated October 30 following its plenary meeting in Paris.
The FATF said it remains concerned by North Korea’s “failure to address the significant deficiencies” in its systems to fight money laundering and terrorist financing, and by the “serious threats” posed by its illicit weapons-related activities.
The U.S. Justice Department said, in a statement released last month, that North Korean IT workers had used stolen or fabricated identities to obtain remote jobs at more than 70 U.S. companies, generating approximately $3 million in revenue.
According to the department, the workers relied on U.S.-based facilitators who received and hosted company-issued computers at their residences, allowing the North Koreans to access corporate networks remotely while appearing to work from within the United States. The earnings are believed to have been transferred to North Korean-controlled entities subject to U.S. sanctions.
The FATF called on countries to maintain countermeasures against North Korea, including cutting ties with North Korean banks, shut down closing their branches and subsidiaries, and limit dealings with North Korean people and companies.
The watchdog also expressed concern that North Korea has “increased its connectivity with the international financial system”, potentially heightening the risk of financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
It said Pyongyang frequently uses “front companies, shell companies, joint ventures and complex, opaque ownership structures” to evade sanctions, urging countries to exercise enhanced due diligence on transactions conducted on behalf of North Korean entities.
The organization also noted that the termination of the U.N. Security Council's Panel of Experts on North Korea has made it more difficult to obtain reliable information needed to assess proliferation financing risks.
Russia vetoed a resolution to extend the panel's mandate in 2024, effectively ending its work.
The FATF's latest assessment comes amid continued concerns over North Korea's use of overseas networks to generate revenue and circumvent sanctions.
The FATF, established in 1989, sets international standards to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of weapons proliferation.
Its high-risk list, commonly referred to as the “blacklist,” currently includes North Korea and Iran. Myanmar is also listed and the FATF is recommending enhanced due diligence in dealings with the country.