Kim Kye-Gwan, top negotiator of the Democratic People's Republic
of Korea (DPRK), arrived?in Beijing?Saturday morning for
the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.
The DPRK would not shut down the Yongbyon nuclear reactor if the
US did not first lift financial bans on DPRK accounts in the Banco
Delta Asia (BDA), a Macao-based bank, Kim told reporters upon his
arrival in Beijing for a new session of the six-party talks
scheduled to open on Monday.
?
Kim, DPRK's vice foreign minister, said the DPRK has not
received any notification regarding the lifting of financial
sanctions yet.
He said it is "unnecessary" for the DPRK and the US to set up
liaison offices. Concerning the HEU (Highly Enriched Uranium)
issue, the DPRK is willing to cooperate with the US, and the DPRK
would like to explain if the US side provides evidence, Kim
said.
The US Treasury Department announced on Wednesday a plan to
resolve the financial dispute with the DPRK by formally barring US
financial institutions from dealing with the BDA.
The US slapped sanctions on the BDA in 2005 and put it on a
money-laundering blacklist, prompting Macao to freeze the US$24
million believed to belong to the DPRK. In return, the DPRK
boycotted the subsequent six-party talks for more than one
year.
As part of the nuclear deal reached during the six-party talks
in Beijing on February 13, the US agreed to settle the financial
dispute with the DPRK within 30 days. The US has accused the DPRK
of using the bank to launder illegal earnings and the DPRK has
urged the?US to lift the sanctions.
(Xinhua News Agency March 17, 2007)
