DPRK, US tackle financial restrictions

Source: CCTV.com | 12-19-2006 18:42

Six-party talks on the Korean nuclear issue are now in their second day. Newly-arrived delegates from the DPRK have held a separate meeting with US officials. The DPRK is hoping to persuade the US to lift financial restrictions imposed last year. One of the key points of contention is the ongoing negotiations.

The DPRK's chief financial negotiator, O Kwang Chol, arrived in Beijing on Tuesday to hold bilateral talks with the US.

His arrival at the airport was greeted by scenes of chaos. And O could barely move for the crowds around him.

Surrounded by reporters, O refused to comment on what he would say to his US counterpart, Daniel Glaser, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the US Treasury Department.

Their meeting is the highlight of the second day of the Six-party Talks, or even of this whole second session of the talks.

During opening talks on the first day, the DPRK laid down several preconditions for abandoning its nuclear project. Topping the list is removing financial restrictions by the US, which has frozen 24 million US Dollars deposited by Pyongyang in a Macao bank. The US has alleged that the bank was complicit in the DPRK's counterfeiting of US dollar bills and money laundering.

It was financial restrictions that led to the DPRK breaking off Six-party talks 13 months ago. If this issue can now be resolved, it will be a major breakthrough that could smooth the way for the rest of the negotiations.

Editor:Ji Xuewen