U.S. Treasury considering North Korea sanction options

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department is considering further financial sanctions against North Korea after Pyongyang tested a nuclear weapon and fired short range missiles, a Treasury official said on Tuesday.

The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said North Korea still had some limited access to the international financial system, and the Treasury still has "broad authority" to take actions to close these off. "We are reviewing our options regarding those," the official added.

The Treasury in 2005 brought North Korea's international bank dealings to a virtual halt when it blacklisted Banco Delta Asia, a small bank in Macau that it accused of laundering money and handling other illicit transactions for North Korea.

The dispute stalled six-nation talks aimed at quelling North Korea's nuclear ambitions until $25 million in frozen North Korean funds was returned in 2007.

But Banco Delta Asia's designation as a "primary money laundering concern" was never lifted and the Treasury official said that the action deterred thousands of banks from doing business with North Korea.

The Treasury official said there was discussion among U.N. Security Council members about what additional sanctions could be taken against North Korea, and these could also provide the basis for further Treasury actions.

(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Cynthia Osterman)