Anchor: Access to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, better known as SWIFT, has been completely cut off for North Korean banks. A report by Reuters on Thursday said the four remaining North Korean banks will be disconnected from the financial network.
Alannah Hill has more.
 
Report: The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication or SWIFT says in a statement that the four North Korean banks still allowed access to the network have been completely cut off.
 
Reuters reported that SWIFT said the banks remaining on the core international financial network will be disconnected as they are no longer in compliance with its membership criteria. However, it did not mention how they failed to meet the criteria.
 
SWIFT’s measure came after the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that four North Korean banks put on Washington’s sanction list were still allowed to access the network.
 
Reuters said the Belgian authorities announced last week it would no longer allow SWIFT to provide services to North Korean banks under UN sanctions. 
 
Reuters said SWIFT’s action was also affected by a UN report last month that says the North was relying on continued access to the international banking system to avoid sanctions put on the regime regarding its nuclear program.
 
Belgium-based SWIFT was established in 1973 to facilitate financial transactions among 240 financial companies based in Europe and North America. It is currently used by more than eleven-thousand financial institutions in more than 200 countries.
Alannah Hill, KBS World Radio News. 

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