Major Chinese banks suspended operations in North Korea

Almaty. September 11. Silkroadnews – Major Chinese banks suspended operations in North Korea, the Japanese information portal The Mainichi reported.
“Chinese state banks have started suspending transactions through accounts held by North Koreans, making it nearly impossible to do business between the two countries”, the report said.
It is noted that the branches of at least three large state-owned banks - the Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank of China - in the north-eastern border city of Yanji also banned North Koreans from opening accounts.
Reportedly, the accounts of North Korean citizens are not yet frozen, which means that the North Koreans can still withdraw money from them, but now they cannot make deposits or remittances.
“The bank restrictions, which the sources said from April were also starting to be put in force in Liaoning Province - the main region of trade between China and North Korea - suggest that China may have become more serious about curbing its nuclear ambitions. The restrictions also appear to be intended to help major Chinese banks avoid being hit by sanctions imposed by the United States and other countries,” the publication reads.
The U.S. is trying to introduce the most severe sanctions against North Korea after the sixth nuclear test and urge China to increase pressure on its neighbor. China, which accounts for about 90% of North Korea’s official trade, and which is its main oil supplier, has long opposed taking excessively strict measures against the country, out of fear of creating a refugee crisis on the border.
China’s official data show that its exports of petroleum products to North Korea, including gasoline and light oil, but excluding crude oil, fell to 19,700 tonnes in the three months through July, which is about 75 percent from a year earlier. The main reason for such a decline was that the North Koreans were having difficulty with paying for imports of petroleum products because of the bank restrictions. In North Korea, gasoline prices in April rose and remain high. The government called on the country’s citizens to use public transport and bicycles to save fuel.