US Cuts North Korea-Linked Chinese Bank off from US Financial System

Move comes as President Trump departs for Asia and visit to China

People take a bus in Pyongyang on July 21, 2017. ED JONES/AFP/Getty Images

The U.S. Treasury Department has cut China’s Bank of Dandong off from the U.S. financial system, on the eve of President Donald Trump’s Asia tour.

The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a final rule Thursday that bars U.S. financial firms from doing business with the Bank of Dandong, which the Treasury department described as “a primary money laundering concern.”