US bemoans lost opportunity at North Korea talks

Beijing, Mar 21: Talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear threat languished today as Pyongyang waited to receive freed funds, prompting delegates to warn that the chance to press forward a disarmament plan was being lost.

The three-day session that began on Monday was meant to focus on steering forward a February 13 deal which called on North Korea to shut its main nuclear reactor and accept other disarmament steps in 60 days in return for economic aid and security assurances.

But impoverished North Korea has insisted it must first see 25 million dollar freed from Macau's Banco Delta Asia (BDA), testing the patience of other negotiators and underscoring the pitfalls that could beset or even derail the breakthrough deal.

''There has been a real opportunity cost to this delay,'' US envoy Christopher Hill told reporters.

''They've not completed the transfer, and until they do that the North Koreans have made clear they're not prepared to engage on the substantive discussions.'' But Hill said he was still hopeful that the six countries -- the two Koreas, the United States, host China, Japan and Russia -- could keep the February accord on track.

''We've got more than three weeks to go, so I do believe that we can get there with all the commitments in the 60 days, but I had looked forward to a much more in-depth discussion this week.'' Envoys expressed frustration with the delays, which have stalled discussions that were meant to focus on how to move beyond the 60-day commitments to coordinate North Korea's steps to disable its nuclear reactor with deliveries of energy aid.

''If it's not resolved, I don't know why we should just waste our time waiting for the obstacle to be cleared,'' South Korean envoy Chun Yung-woo said of the banking issue.

Symbolic Test

A spokeswoman for the Macau government said there had been no news of any bank move and a BDA spokesman said there had been ''no further developments''. A spokesman for the Bank of China, which is supposed to receive the money, was unaware of the dispute.

''It's not a big deal in terms of transfers,'' said spokesman Wang Zhaowen. ''If it's lawful and above board, the procedures shouldn't be a problem.'' But for reclusive North Korea, the money was a symbolic test, said Shi Yinhong, an international relations expert at the People's University in Beijing.

''They want to send a signal that even if they shut down the reactor as a concession, along the way they will extract maximum concessions,'' Shi told Reuters. ''They want not just the money but also the psychological victory.'' The North boycotted six-party talks for over a year, blaming Macau's freezing of the accounts, which came after Washington accused the bank of harbouring North Korea's illicit earnings.

Pyongyang returned to the table in December, months after conducting its first nuclear test, which drew international condemnation and U.N. sanctions.

It was unclear whether the talks would continue beyond today. Hill said he was frustrated with waiting but also wanted the chance to discuss the issues at hand.

''I would not be surprised if there were a recess and then we were called back together at some point in the near future.

I just don't know,'' he said. ''At some point soon we're going to have to have those discussions.''

Reuters

Related Stories