The United States has reportedly found several suspicious North Korean bank accounts in Malaysia.

A U.S. delegation that recently visited China for talks on implementing U.N. Security Council sanctions against North Korea is reportedly visiting Malaysia to discuss the suspicious bank accounts.

The delegation, led by the State Department's point man on coordinating implementation of the sanctions, Philip Goldberg, is expected to meet with Malaysian government officials later in the day to discuss ways to freeze the North’s bank accounts.

Washington reportedly believes that Pyongyang received payment for its export of military equipment to Myanmar through the Malaysian bank accounts.

North Korea was confirmed, in the past, to have engaged in international financial transactions through banks in China and its two Special Administrative Regions, Hong Kong and Macao. This is the first time suspected transactions have involved banks in Southeast Asia.

In particular, attention is being paid to whether the U.S. will seek measures similar to those taken in 2007 against a bank in Macao.

In March 2007, the U.S. Treasury ordered U.S. companies and financial institutions to cut links with Macao-based Banco Delta Asia after criticizing the bank’s dealings with Pyongyang.

The Treasury Department’s Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Stuart Levey, and Deputy Assistant Secretary Daniel Glaser are reportedly considering taking similar steps against the North Korean bank accounts in Malaysia. The two officials played key roles in freezing North Korean funds connected to the Macau bank.