Seoul – A South Korean bank said Friday it would suspend its US dollar remittance service to Myanmar as part of an international crackdown on countries suspected of financing terror.Korea Exchange Bank, controlled by a US buyout fund, said its decision would take effect in October.

The bank said it would also stop accepting dollar remittances from Myanmar. Other foreign currencies such as the euro will not be affected.

In July, the US Congress renewed a ban on imports from Myanmar for another year, seeking to pressure the military regime over human rights and democracy, as well as alleged ties to North Korea.

Myanmar announced Friday it would hold its first election in two decades on November 7 — a vote that activists and the West say is a sham aimed at shoring up the ruling junta’s half-century grip on power.

Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won the last election in 1990 but was never allowed to take power. The Nobel laureate has spent most of the ensuing two decades under house arrest.

Washington has said it would only lift sanctions in return for progress on democracy and other concerns.

China is the main military and diplomatic partner of Myanmar, which has trading relationships with many Asian nations.