North Korea deprives Asia-Pacific Anti-Money Laundering Organization of Observation State

North Korea has been deprived of its status as an observer (observer) at the Asia-Pacific Anti-Money Laundering Organization, APG, which was established to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the APG unanimously passed the deprivation of status in accordance with operating regulations at the 26th General Assembly held on the 24th, saying that North Korea had not been active as an observer for the past six years.

Established in 1997, APG has 42 members, including Korea, the United States, Japan, China, and Australia.

North Korea first acquired observer status in 2014 to show compliance with international norms, but failed to fulfill its obligations, such as visiting the APG delegation and cooperating with the APG Secretariat's report preparation.

The secretariat reported that it had tried to contact North Korea through international organizations after notifying North Korea of the status of an observer state, but there was no response.