다음은 동아닷컴 http://www.donga.com 에 있는 기사임. 이 기사뒤에 미래한국신문의 기사와 월스트리트의 의 영문 기사를 올릴 것임. “美금융제재로 北무역 사실상 중단” 미국이 북한의 돈세탁 창구로 마카오의 방코델타아시아(BDA)은행을 지목한 이후 다른 국제 금융기관들이 잇따라 북한과 관계 단절에 나서면서 북한의 금융시스템과 경제가 심각한 타격을 입고 있다고 월스트리트저널 아시아판이 14일 보도했다. 이 신문은 미 국무부가 지난해 9월 BDA에 대한 제재 가능성을 거론한 지 수주일 만에 북한의 합법적 대외무역이 대부분 중단 상태에 빠져 들었다면서 이같이 전했다. 한 미국 관료는 “기대 밖으로 북한의 동맥에 타격을 가한 셈”이라고 말했다. 특히 북한 금융기관과 무역업자들은 해외 영업 활동을 함께할 금융기관을 구하는 데 어려움을 겪고 있으며, 이에 따라 북한경제 개방작업에 필수적인 소비재 수입이 곤경에 빠져 있다고 소개했다. 이철희 기자 klimt@donga.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 다음은 미래한국신문 http://www.fturekorea.co.kr  에 있는기사임.    美 금융제재, 北경제 심각한 타격 美 “이것은 단지 시작에 불과”...北 “미 제재 혈액흐름 막는 것과 같아” 비난       미국이 지난해 북한의 돈 세탁을 돕고 위조달러를 유통시킨 혐의로 마카오 주재 한 은행과의 거래를 중단한 것은 다른 해외금융기관들로 하여금 북한과의 거래를 중단하는 상황을 초래, 북한 경제에 심대한 타격(significant blow)을 준 것으로 알려졌다. 월스트리트저널은 지난 14일자에서 이같이 밝히며 미국의 이 조치 후 북한은 자신들의 해외업무를 도울 다른 해외금융기관을 찾는 데 큰 어려움에 처해있다고 전했다. 미 재무부는 지난해 9월 마카오의 방코델타아시아 은행이 북한이 제작한 위조달러를 유통시키고 북한정권 및 북한기업들의 불법 활동을 도왔다며 미국 내 모든 금융기관이 이 은행과 거래하는 것을 중단시켰다. 방코델타아시아은행은 이 혐의를 부인했지만 많은 사람들의 예금 인출과 마카오 정부의 조사 등으로 이어지며 북한과의 모든 계좌를 폐쇄했다. 이 조치 이후 수주일 동안 다른 해외금융기관들도 적법한 것임에도 불구, 북한과의 거래를 중단했다고 저널은 보도했다. 해외 은행들은 미 당국의 조사를 우려, 북한으로부터의 송금도 받으려 하지 않고 있다고 신문은 소개했다. 싱가포르에 있는 ‘유나이티드해외은행’은 북한과의 거래를 중단했는 데 이유는 미국의 법적 조치에 대한 우려때문이라고 밝혔다. 미국은 미 국내법인 애국법(Patriot Act)에 따라 외국 은행이나 한 국가를 돈 세탁 우려 대상으로 지정, 이에 대한 특별조치를 취할 수 있게 했다. 방코델타아시아 은행에 대한 조치도 그 일환. 미 재무부는 최근 북한 은행이 거래를 위해 해외에 새 은행을 찾으려 할 때마다 담당자를 파견, 북한이 돈을 세탁할 새로운 곳을 찾고 있다고 경고하고 있다. 이에 따라 북한은 새로운 해외은행을 찾는 데 큰 어려움에 빠져있는 것으로 평가되고 있다. 북한외무성대변인은 최근 북한은 돈 세탁, 위폐제작 등에 관여한 적이 없다며 미국의 이런 조치들은 혈액이 흐르는 것을 막는 것과 같은 것으로 북한 체제를 붕괴시키려는 노력이라고 비난했다. 미국의 금융제재가 혈액의 흐름을 막는 것과 같이 북한에 위협이 되고 있다는 것이다. 북한에 상업은행을 운영하다 최근 문을 닫은 한 은행가는 “미국의 이 조치들은 대다수 사람들이 생각하는 것보다 북한에 큰 문제”라고 지적했다고 저널은 전했다. 미국은 이런 대북 금융제재를 지속*강화할 것으로 전망되고 있다. 저널은 “이것은 단지 시작에 불과하다”는 한 미 고위 관리의 말을 인용, 미국은 마카오 은행에 대한 조치 등이 북한으로 하여금 핵무기 추구비용을 재평가해 핵  폐기 압박으로 작용할 것을 기대하고 있다고 분석했다. 또 미국은 북한의 가장 중요한 경제원조자이며 외부세계로 나가는 주요통로인 중국을 미국의 이런 조치에 동참시키는 데 노력할 것으로 평가되고 있다. 콘돌리자 라이스 미 국무장관은 지난해 고위급 중국관리에게 그들로 하여금 북한의 불법적인 거래를 중단시켜야 한다고 말했다고 저널은 전했다.   워싱턴=이상민 특파원 zzangsm@ 미래한국  2006-02-14 오후 5:01:00     --------------------------------------------------------------------   Banks Cut Ties to North Korea (월스트리트저널)   다음은 월스트리트저널 http://online.wsj.com 에 있는 기사임. Banks Cut Ties to North Korea U.S. Threat Toward One Lender Has Surprisingly Big Ripple Effect By GORDON FAIRCLOUGH February 14, 2006; Page A7 SEOUL, South Korea -- The threat of U.S. sanctions against a Macau bank that allegedly helped North Korea launder money and pass forged dollars has persuaded other lenders to sever ties with the communist country, dealing a significant blow to its financial system and economy, diplomats and bankers say. Much of North Korea's legitimate international trade ground to a halt in the weeks after Washington declared in September that Banco Delta Asia, in the Chinese enclave of Macau, could face punishment as an institution of "primary money-laundering concern" because of its ties to North Korea, these people say. "We knew there was a lot going on, but we didn't expect to hit a major artery like we did," says a U.S. official. Cut off by Banco Delta Asia, North Korean banks and traders are having difficulty finding other lenders to conduct their overseas business, according to bankers and businessmen. That is pinching consumer-goods imports, an important part of the North Korean government's move to allow freer markets. "This is a bigger problem for North Korea than most people realize," says an executive at a Pyongyang-based commercial bank. "It was a big shock. Our business turnover just stopped." A businessman in Dandong, a Chinese city with road and rail links to North Korea, says cross-border trade has been on the decline since the U.S. move against Banco Delta Asia. He says he is holding a large consignment of chemicals used to make rubber for shoes because his North Korean customer has been unable to transfer the funds to pay for it. In September, the U.S. Treasury Department said Banco Delta Asia was a "willing pawn" of North Korea, helping the country place counterfeit U.S. currency into circulation and facilitating the "criminal activities" of the North Korean government and North Korean companies. Banco Delta Asia has denied the charges, which prompted a run by depositors. The Macau government then took control of Banco Delta Asia and shut down all North Korea-related accounts while it conducts its own investigation. Among the closed accounts, according to Banco Delta Asia's lawyers, were those belonging to 20 North Korean banks, as well as those of 11 trading companies and nine individuals from the country. Millions of dollars in the accounts were frozen, people familiar with the situation say. The Pyongyang banker says it is unclear when the money will be returned. He said that in the case of his bank, all the funds were the proceeds of legal business in North Korea. Losing Banco Delta Asia hurt. But more significantly, the Pyongyang banker and U.S. officials say, other lenders have moved to sever contacts with North Korea, fearing that they, too, could face U.S. legal action. United Overseas Bank in Singapore and other lenders have stopped doing business with North Korean banks, people familiar with the situation say. United Overseas Bank declined to comment, saying that it was barred from talking about its customers by Singapore's bank-secrecy laws. Last week, a North Korean foreign-ministry spokesman denied that his country was involved in money laundering or counterfeiting and said Pyongyang won't resume talks aimed at curbing its nuclear-weapons programs until the threat of sanctions is lifted. The ministry has described the U.S. moves as "an effort to destroy the system" in North Korea "by stopping its blood from running." The U.S. insists the steps taken against Banco Delta Asia are a law-enforcement action unrelated to disarmament negotiations. Indeed, the U.S. since 2003 has taken similar steps against banks in Latvia, Belarus, Syria and Myanmar suspected of money laundering. But some U.S. officials involved in the nuclear talks say they hope the moves against the Macau bank will prompt Pyongyang to reassess the costs of pursuing nuclear weapons. Washington is increasingly using domestic laws as foreign-policy tools as it tries to deny illicit funds to terrorists and, in the case of North Korea, a regime that says it is building a bigger atomic arsenal. "This is just the beginning," says a senior U.S. official involved with policy toward North Korea. The official says that, at the last round of multilateral talks in December, U.S. negotiators warned Pyongyang's diplomats that "people will be looking at their financial transactions. They should get used to it." Banco Delta Asia -- a unit of Delta Asia Financial Group -- had become a major conduit for moving money in and out of the country, in part because of its willingness to accept large cash deposits flown in by North Korean banks, the Pyongyang banker says. North Korean banks use U.S. dollars, euros and yen to meet overseas obligations. They rely on correspondent banks in other countries to handle transactions. Normally, correspondent banks have reciprocal arrangements, meeting each other's needs in their respective local currencies. But as the North Korean currency, the won, isn't much in demand, foreign banks have no need for won accounts in Pyongyang. That means North Korean banks have to fly dollars earned by their clients in North Korea out of the country through China for deposit at other banks, the banker says. "Banks are policing themselves," says another U.S. official. "Before the Americans come knocking, they want to know what their exposure is." Under the Patriot Act, the U.S. can designate banks or entire countries as being of "primary money-laundering concern." It can then take "special measures" against them. In the case of Banco Delta Asia, Washington is seeking to prohibit all U.S. financial institutions from maintaining correspondent accounts for the Macau bank. That would effectively cut it off from access to the U.S. financial system. North Korean bankers are looking to establish correspondent relationships with other banks, but are having a difficult time, says the Pyongyang banker. The banker says that some of his clients, which sell imports in North Korea, have been told by their banks at home that remittances from North Korea would no longer be accepted because the money could draw unwanted scrutiny from U.S. authorities. As North Korean bankers have searched Asia for lenders willing to handle their transactions, U.S. Treasury officials have also made high-profile visits to the region and warned that Pyongyang is looking for new places to launder money. China, which remains North Korea's most important economic benefactor, is an important focus of the U.S. campaign. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned high-ranking Chinese officials last year that they must curb illicit North Korean transactions, U.S. officials say. Chinese bankers say that they are stepping up scrutiny of North Korea-related accounts. "We have been watching transactions closely," says an official at the Bank of China branch in Dandong. A banker in the Dandong branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China says that "once any sign of North Korea emerges, we must be very cautious." The Chinese government has circulated a list of firms and individuals suspected of involvement in money laundering, which includes the names of some North Korean banks and companies, he says. China's central bank, which oversees efforts to curb money laundering, declined to comment, as did the China Banking Regulatory Commission. The Pyongyang bank executive says that, with previous banking routes closed off, businesspeople will increasingly resort to carrying cash to China, making it much harder to trace. The big losers, the banker says, are those involved in legitimate business who are helping drive economic changes. "The people who can keep going are the criminals who can find other routes through China," the banker says. --Ellen Zhu in Shanghai and Lina Yoon in Seoul contributed to this article. Write to Gordon Fairclough at gordon.fairclough@wsj.com1   URL for this article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113986882103772752.html   Hyperlinks in this Article: (1) mailto:gordon.fairclough@wsj.com