<Anchor> The

United States Department of Justice charged 28 North Koreans for their involvement in money laundering of more than 3 trillion won. The government of the United States believes that North Korea has done this massive money laundering with the help of China and that it has made weapons of mass destruction.

Washington Correspondent Kim Soo-hyung reports.

<Reporter> The

United States Department of Justice charged 28 North Koreans and five Chinese for money laundering crimes in North Korea.

They are accused of laundering US $ 2.5 billion and US $ 3.11 trillion in money by using over 250 ghost companies and secret bank branches.

They didn't arrest them, but they were accused of the crime.

It is the largest amount of North Korean sanctions violations accused by the United States.

The United States Department of Justice said the laundered funds flowed into North Korea's leading foreign exchange bank, the Chosun Trade Bank, to support weapons of mass destruction.

Among the prosecutions were two former Governors Cho Chul-man, Kim Seong-wa, and former vice-governor Chosun Trade Bank.

Under the UN sanctions, North Korea's banks have been unable to open branches in other countries since 2016, but the US Department of Justice revealed that the Chosun Trade Bank has been operating branches in Beijing and Shenyang, China.

The US Joint Chiefs of Staff also pointed to China and North Korea again, citing external threats to the United States.

[Mark Millie / Chief of the United States: There are many things that don't fit the interests of the United States. It is happening every day from terrorists or Russia to China, Iran, and North Korea.]

The prosecution also interprets the implications of a warning about China's closest relationship with the United States to North Korea.