Pyongyang accuses US of political manipulation over anti-money laundering blacklist

North Korea on Friday again accused the US and the international community of pursuing a political agenda against Pyongyang, denouncing a decision by the global anti-money laundering watchdog to keep the country on its blacklist.

A spokesperson for North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the Financial Action Task Force had become a “highly politicized” body serving what Pyongyang described as Washington’s hostile policy toward North Korea, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

The remarks came after the FATF said in an Oct. 30 statement that North Korea would remain on its list of high-risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action.

The FATF also called for terminating banking relationships with North Korean banks, closing subsidiaries and branches linked to North Korean financial institutions abroad, and restricting business relationships and financial transactions with the country.

Pyongyang has been classified as a high-risk jurisdiction by the FATF since 2011.

The North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson rejected allegations of money laundering, terrorist financing, drug trafficking and currency counterfeiting involving North Korea, claiming they had been fabricated by the US and its allies to “demonize” the country.

According to the KCNA report, the spokesperson said North Korea had held talks with the FATF since 2013 and had revised domestic legislation on money laundering and terrorist financing in an effort to improve transparency in financial transactions.

Despite those steps, the ministry said, the watchdog had continued to designate North Korea as a threat to the international financial system and as a jurisdiction requiring countermeasures.

It also criticized a 2024 decision to strip North Korea of its observer status at the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering, arguing that the move showed international financial oversight bodies were working in concert with the US.

The spokesperson went on to accuse the US and other Western countries of being responsible for activities ranging from terrorism and drug trafficking to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, while warning that the FATF would lose international trust if it continued to be used for political purposes.