U.S. official to visit Asia over N. Korea sanctions

By Lee Chi-dong WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 (Yonhap) -- A senior U.S. Treasury Department official will visit mainland China and Hong Kong this week for consultations on sanctions against Iran and North Korea regarding their proliferation activities, the department announced Monday. David Cohen, under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, plans to make a three-day trip through Wednesday to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in blocking access by Iran and North Korea to the international financial system for funding their development and trafficking of weapons of mass destruction, it added. "His visit will highlight the importance of close cooperation and coordination with China on efforts to combat the financing of weapons proliferation and other measures to protect the integrity of the international financial system," the department said in a statement. Many observers agree that China, the North's closest communist ally, holds the key to enforcing various sanctions against Pyongyang, including those imposed by the United Nations. Washington has imposed a set of bilateral sanctions on North Korean entities and individuals suspected of being engaged in illicit weapons trade. U.S. citizens are prohibited from dealing in the property and interests of the blacklisted North Korean firms and individuals. The North has been accused of operating paper companies in China to serve as a conduit for its arms trade. In Hong Kong, Cohen is expected to focus on discouraging shipping firms and exporters there from doing business with Iran's national maritime carrier, the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines.