US envoy says no progress in N Korea talks

BEIJING, Dec 21 (Reuters) The US lead negotiator today said no progress had been made at talks to convince North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons programme, dimming prospects of a breakthrough before Christmas.

''We we hoping to make more progress than we made,'' Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told reporters after North and South Korea, the United States, Japan, Russia and host China held four days of negotiations in Beijing.

A South Korean official said earlier the North would not budge without a US climbdown on accounts frozen at a Macau bank that Washington says was a ''willing pawn'' through which Pyongyang engaged in counterfeiting and money-laundering.

''The North Koreans had a great deal of difficulty talking about anything but (the bank),'' Hill said.

''We understand the DPRK delegation has an interest'' in that issue, Hill said, referring to North Korea's official name. ''We prefer that they had an even greater interest in denuclearisation.'' Reuters SY GC2111