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Two days of working-level talks between the U.S. and North Korea ended Wednesday without progress over US$24 million in North Korean accounts frozen in a Macau bank, sources say. In the Beijing talks, the U.S. showed North Korea evidence that the frozen Banco Delta Asia accounts are linked to Pyongyang¡¯s illegal activities. U.S. Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Daniel Glaser reportedly explained evidence that he said proves Pyongyang's involvement in money laundering. The North was unconvinced, saying it will launch an internal investigation once the U.S. provides compelling evidence, according to the sources. The U.S. delegation included two experts on North Korea-made counterfeit notes.
Prior to the meeting, Glaser told reporters that after reviewing 300,000 pages of documents over the past 18 months, "Everything that we've see through these documents has confirmed what we've been saying -- that there's really been a lot of troubling activity ongoing at that bank." According to Reuters, a source with close ties to the North Korean government warned, "If the U.S. does not resolve it, North Korea will have no choice but to announce at the six-party talks that it plans to conduct another test."
The source told Reuters the U.S. ¡°lacked evidence of wrongdoing, and that North Korea would likely express its frustration when it comes to six-party talks." U.S. chief delegate Christopher Hill reportedly plans to visit Japan and Korea to discuss last-minute negotiating strategies this weekend on his way to Beijing.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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