US cites Swiss firm over North Korea ties

WASHINGTON, Mar 30 (Reuters) The U.S. Treasury Department designated a Swiss company and its president as supporters of weapons proliferation because of the company's ties to North Korea and ordered their U.S. assets to be frozen today.

The Treasury designated Swiss firm Kohas AG and its head, Jakob Steiger, under a presidential executive order aimed at blocking the assets of firms and individuals who play a role in proliferating weapons of mass destruction.

Kohas is an industrial supply wholesaler located in Switzerland and was named for its ties to Korea Ryonbong General Corp., a company whose U.S. assets have already been ordered frozen by President George W. Bush, the Treasury said in a statement.

Nearly half of Kohas' shares are owned by a subsidiary of Korea Ryonbong General called Korea Ryonbong Trading Corp., which has also been cited by Treasury. Steiger, a Swiss national, owns the remainder of the company's shares, Treasury said.

Kohas acts as a technology broker in Europe for the North Korean military and has procured goods with weapons-related applications, the Treasury Department said.

Treasury said Kohas and Steiger have been involved in activities of proliferation concern on behalf of North Korea since the late 1980s.

''North Korea's efforts to build and sell weapons of mass destruction depend on a vast network, the reach of which extends beyond Asia. The Treasury will continue to track and combat this network aggressively,'' Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levey said.

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