The United States said yesterday that the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea (DPRK) will have a chance to seek access to its frozen overseas bank
accounts when six-party talks are resumed.
"We will seek to address the issue in the context of the six-party talks,"
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told a news briefing.
However, the spokesman noted that the best way to deal with the issue is to
get at the root causes, which he said were Pyongyang's "illicit behavior."
The United States has imposed financial sanctions on the DPRK in retaliation
for alleged U.S. dollar counterfeiting and money laundering by Pyongyang.
The DPRK said on Wednesday that it had decided to return to the six-party
talks on the premise that the issue of lifting financial sanctions will be
discussed and settled between the DPRK and the U.S. within the framework of the
six-party talks.
Prior to the statement, Pyongyang vowed that so long as it is under U.S.
sanctions, it will not return to the six-party talks which are aimed at ending
its nuclear weapons drive.
The US negotiator, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, said the
six-party talks could resume as early as November or December.
In addition to the U.S. and the DPRK, the six-party talks also involve South
Korea, China, Japan and Russia.
The six-party talks on Korean nuclear issue have remained stalled since the
last round meeting in Beijing in November 2005.
