Russia yesterday accused the United States of deferring the settlement of
financial disputes with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and
hindering progress of the multinational nuclear talks.
"The US Department of Treasury has not dropped objections to the use of the
money and this is creating problems. We won't be able to proceed before the
North Korea says that it has received the money," Deputy Foreign Minister
Alexander Losyukov was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.
Losyukov will visit Japan soon and discuss the issue with the Japanese top
negotiator to the talks, which also involves the DPRK,the United States, China
and the Republic of Korea.
The six-nation talks, which aimed at achieving a denuclearized Korean
Peninsula, have been in recess since March 22 due to difficulties in solving the
financial dispute between the DPRK and the US.
Washington blacklisted the Banco Delta Asia (BDA) in Macao in September 2005,
accusing it of being a money-laundering front for Pyongyang. The DPRK has denied
the charges but its US$25 million funds in the BDA were frozen.
The DPRK agreed to shut down and seal its Yongbyon nuclear facility during
the last phase of talks in February, on the condition that its funds frozen in
BDA are returned.
The US said earlier this month that it supported the return of the DPRK funds
and had identified a way to do that. The DPRK said last Friday that it will
"move" if the funds were released.
In a joint document signed on Feb. 13, the six parties agreed to a 60-day
deadline, which ended last Saturday, to implement a series of initial steps,
mainly including the shutdown and sealing of the Yongbyon nuclear facility and
the provision of energy aid to the DPRK.