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South Korea's chief negotiator in six-party nuclear talks Chun Yung-woo met with his U.S. counterpart Christopher Hill in Washington on Monday. The two exchanged views on North Korea's implementation of a Feb. 13 denuclearization agreement, including a visit by Hill to Pyongyang once North Korea¡¯s money is finally transferred from a Macau bank. "They also discussed holding a foreign ministers¡¯ meeting of participating nations in the six-party talks in July," a diplomatic source in Washington said.
"We hope the North Korean funds [in Banco Delta Asia] will be transferred via the New York Federal Reserve Bank as early as this week.¡± Another source was also optimistic, saying there was "a 90 percent chance¡± of the epically delayed issue being resolved. North Korea has refused to implement its part of the agreement until it has the money in hand.
In recent days, the U.S. Treasury and Justice departments have reportedly decided that there is no legal problem with the intervention of the New York Federal Reserve Bank as a channel for transferring the money to a Russian bank. Treasury spokeswoman Molly Millerwise said, "We appreciate the willingness of the Russian government to facilitate this transaction and the good cooperation of the Macanese authorities."
South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon in a press conference on Tuesday said it was too early to say the matter is finally resolved, ¡°but it is moving quickly." The latest plan is to move the unfrozen US$25 million to Far Eastern Commercial Bank via the Fed and Russia¡¯s central bank. Song said the intermediate agency of the Fed ¡°would not be subject to Clause 311 of the Patriot Act¡± which bans it from handling money tainted with terrorist financing and illicit associations. ¡°It would go beyond legal and technical barriers,¡± he added.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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