US urges Beijing to stick to hard line on North Korea sanctions as spotlight falls on three Chinese banks
- US court demands that banks open their books on trading with Pyongyang
- Washington has taken more hawkish stand on sanctions against North Korea
The United States has urged China to more strictly enforce United Nations sanctions on North Korea, demanding that three Chinese banks submit records to US officials investigating alleged sanctions busting.
Beryl Howell, judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia, ordered the banks to hand over records of their transactions with North Korea, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
In a heavily redacted court opinion released by the US Justice Department on Tuesday and dated March 18, Howell said the subpoenas were for records of dealings between a now-defunct Hong Kong-based front company and a North Korean state-run business.
The court document did not include the names of the organisations.
The Chinese government had stakes in all three of the banks, two of which had branches in the US, it said.