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In a chain of denials and counter-denials, a U.S. official has said President Roh Moo-hyun did ask for an early conclusion of the U.S. investigation into North Korean accounts in a Macau bank when he met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Sept. 13.
In a telephone interview with the Chosun Ilbo on Wednesday, the official said he knew about confusion in Korea about the matter. He said Washington kept Roh's request confidential, but added he could confirm the Korean president made the request since Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Lee Tae-sik already made it public. Lee mentioned Roh's request, made in the interest of reviving six-party talks on the North nuclear program, but the president¡¯s chief security adviser Song Min-soon and Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Yoon Tae-young later denied it. Lee told reporters he brought minutes of the meeting between Roh and Paulson with him and read them repeatedly before meeting the correspondents. Lee did not mention how the treasury secretary responded.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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