Swiss vow to investigate secret North bank funds

The Swiss government will investigate secret North Korean accounts in its banks if it gets evidence of such funds, Radio Free Asia reported on Saturday.

The Swiss move is a response to a call by the United States for international cooperation on tougher sanctions against the North for the sinking of a South Korean warship in March and its refusal to come back to negotiations on the ending of its nuclear weapons program.

RFA cited Roland Vock, a senior official of the Sanctions Unit at the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affair, as saying that Switzerland is complying with sanctions on Pyongyang applied under UN Security Council resolutions 1718 and 1874.

“Any financial assets that fall under the scope of the resolutions would have to be frozen,” Vock was quoted by RFA as saying.

Vock told RFA that if they are provided specific information about illegal financial transactions by North Korea through even unlisted bank accounts, they will start an investigation.

Robert Einhorn, U.S. special advisor on the North Korean sanctions, came to Seoul last night and will meet with South Korean officials to discuss the sanctions.

By Moon Gwang-lip [joe@joongang.co.kr]