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The North Korea nuclear talks are being extended in Beijing as
Pyongyang continues to insist it gets back $25 million that had been
frozen in a Macau bank. VOA's Luis Ramirez reports from Beijing.
Diplomats had hoped to conclude what was supposed to be a three-day
session, but with the North Koreans boycotting plenary sessions for two
days, the Chinese hosts decided to try again and asked all the
participants to stay another day.
The impasse involves North Korea's insistence that it first confirm
receipt of nearly $25 million being released from a Macau bank, before
continuing with negotiations. The money had been frozen during an 18-month
U.S. probe into allegations that the bank, Banco Delta Asia, had helped
launder millions of dollars that North Korea obtained through
counterfeiting, drug trafficking, and other crimes.
A U.S. ruling recently cleared the way for Macau to release the funds
to North Korea via a Chinese bank, which by late Wednesday, had not
happened.
U.S. envoy Christopher Hill said the North Koreans did attend a short
plenary session. He said the Chinese hosts are working to keep the talks
going and make up for lost time.
"They feel they can resolve some
of these issues with the bank accounts that have really slowed things up
and so they are hopeful that in another day we can get back to some of the
real issues that we are trying to get resolved," he said.
Hill says the stalemate
over the funds has prevented the participants from getting to the core
issue of nuclear disarmament.
In a February preliminary accord, Pyongyang promised to shut down its
main nuclear reactor and plutonium factory by mid-April in exchange for
energy aid and diplomatic concessions. Ultimately, the agreement calls for
North Korea to provide a full accounting of its nuclear capabilities and a
disabling of its facilities.
The participants in the talks, which also include officials from Japan,
Russia, and South Korea, hope to leave Beijing with a timetable for
implementation of the February agreement. | 
