[USFK Forums] China, Russia Want End to U.S.-North Korea Row [Bloomberg]

[C. Y. Lee]

Uploaded by C. Y. Lee on Friday, March 17, 2006

China, Russia Want End to U.S.- North Korea Row (Update1)

March 16 (Bloomberg) -- China and Russia said a dispute between the U.S. and North Korea over alleged money laundering and illegal weapons sales is preventing the resumption of six- nation talks aimed at ending the communist country's nuclear weapons program.

The dispute ``has posed an obstacle'' to negotiations involving North Korea, the U.S., South Korea, China Japan and Russia, China's Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Li Hui said in Beijing today in a joint briefing with Russia's Ambassador to China Sergei Razov. ``We hope it will be resolved soon.''

The U.S. Treasury Department in September last year said Macau, China-based Banco Delta Asia SARL helped North Korean officials make ``surreptitious'' deposits and withdrawals. In October, the department identified eight North Korean companies it said helped the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and froze their U.S. assets.

Russia and China ``hold the same position'' on the North Korean standoff, Razov said. ``We hope the relevant parties will find an early solution to their dispute so as to remove any obstacles to the talks.''

North Korea has repeatedly denied the allegations and has called on the U.S. to lift its financial sanctions, saying they may prevent the resumption of six-nation talks on dismantling North Korea nuclear weapons program.

The U.S., South Korea, Japan, China and Russia have been negotiating with North Korea for the past 2 1/2 years in an effort to get North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.

Although negotiators, including North Korea's, called in September for a nuclear-free Korean peninsula and economic cooperation with North Korea on energy, trade and investment, the next round of talks ended Nov. 11 without an agreement.


To contact the reporter for this story:
Rob Delaney in Beijing at robdelaney@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 16, 2006 04:03 EST