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North Korea on Thursday asked the U.S. to lift a freeze on its transactions through a Chinese bank in Macau which Washington claims was used to funnel the Stalinist country¡¯s ill-gotten gains.
North Korea said the issue must be resolved before six-party talks on its nuclear program underway in Beijing can make progress, informed sources said Friday. They quoted the North's chief negotiator Kim Kye-Gwan as saying the U.S. freeze on the bank and blacklisting of several North Korean companies in the last few months ¡°show an utter lack of basic trust, and in such a tense situation it is impossible to discuss the nuclear weapons issue.¡±
The chief U.S. envoy Christopher Hill also told reporters North Korea complained about the financial sanctions Washington has imposed. But he said the problem was not on the agenda of the six-party talks and should be dealt with by the Treasury Department.
The US accuses the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia of being involved in North Korea¡¯s circulation of counterfeit U.S. currency and money laundering. In response, the bank broke off its dealings with the North and Macau lawmakers on Oct. 28 passed tougher legislation against money laundering.
An official at the talks was concerned. ¡°If this round ends without result, the U.S. and other countries will cast doubt on North Korean¡¯s resolve to dismantle its nuclear program, and that would call the usefulness of the six-party talks into question." The talks went into their last day Friday before breaking for the APEC summit.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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