North Korea quits nuclear talks

Like we didn't see this coming. My expectations whenever N. Korea is involved are so low, I was surprised they hung around as long as they did.


http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...9-2703,00.html

North Korea quits nuclear talks

• Rowan Callick, China correspondent
• March 23, 2007

THE current round of six-party talks on the denuclearisation of North Korea has been abandoned after the chief representative from Pyongyang refused for the third day running to participate, and flew home from Beijing last night.

Delegation leader Kim Kye-gwan refused to rejoin talks on the February 13 deal - in which North Korea agreed to halt operations at its Yongbyon nuclear plant - until $US25million ($31million) in funds is released back to the rogue state by the US from the Macau bank where the money has been frozen. The delegations from the other countries involved - host and convenor China, the US, Japan, South Korea and Russia - have expressed disappointment because the talks appear to have been derailed by what South Korean representative Chun Yung-woo called "technical problems".
Some reports say the Macau authorities have had difficulty in confirming the ownership of the 50 North Korean accounts that the US identified 18 months ago as allegedly used for money laundering.
Japanese and Russian diplomats said the Bank of China - which was to take delivery of the funds from the Banco Delta Asia in Macau, and then pass them over to Pyongyang - appeared to be reluctant to accept money that had been the focus of criminal investigations.
But the Bank of China said last night that it had not yet been asked to handle the transfer.
"Up to now we have not been asked to do this business," Li Lihui, the bank's vice chairman and president said in Hong Kong.
The United States earlier this week announced that the money could now be released.
This round of talks opened as scheduled on Monday, but failed to make progress afterwards, raising questions as to whether North Korea can fulfil its obligations under the February 13 deal within the agreed 60-day limit.