The mysterious Mongolian company that recently made a winning auction bid for the Tokyo headquarters of a pro-North Korean association did so purely for business reasons, its president claimed Thursday.

Chuvaamed Erdenebat, who heads Avar LLC, told reporters in Ulan Bator that its participation earlier this month in the bidding has "no links with any governments in Mongolia, Japan, North Korea and South Korea."

The Mongolian firm, little known at home and abroad, won an auction for the headquarters site and building of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) with a bid of ¥5.01 billion.