[USFK Forums] China Says U.S.-North Korea Sanctions Row Delays Nuclear Talks

[C. Y. Lee]

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

China Says U.S.-North Korea Sanctions Row Delays Nuclear Talks

March 16 (Bloomberg) -- China 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 financial 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 told reporters in Beijing today. ``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.

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 15, 2006 23:58 EST