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Hopes Rise For End To North Korea Impasse After Funds Transfer
Hong Kong (AFP) June 14, 2007 Officials in Macau confirmed Thursday the transfer of more than 20 million dollars in North Korean assets from one of the territory's banks, paving the way for Pyongyang to honour its pledge to disarm. Macau finance minister Francis Tam Pak Yuen "confirmed that Banco Delta Asia has, according to the instruction of its North Korean client, transferred more than 20 million dollars out of Macau," a government statement said. Tam did not disclose where the funds had been sent, the statement added. A Macau government spokeswoman contacted by AFP was unable to say whether the full amount had been transferred, and a US spokesman could not confirm that the transfer had been completed. North Korea has repeatedly refused to implement a six-party deal reached in February under which it agreed to dismantle its nuclear programmes until it receives all 25 million dollars from the troubled Macau bank. The funds were frozen in 2005 when the United States blacklisted BDA on suspicion it was handling the proceeds of North Korean money-laundering and counterfeiting. Negotiators from the six countries party to the agreement -- North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States -- have spent months trying to resolve the banking dispute. But few banks were willing to handle the disputed North Korean money for fear of sullying their own reputations. "I would expect that if the transfer is completed, then some or all of those parties will have something to say about it," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. "All I can say is that the North Koreans have said that they would like to see all the 25 million dollars transferred. This is an issue that we, the US government have been working on," he added. Earlier this week, Russia reportedly finally gave permission to its banks to help transfer the funds, allegedly with the help of the US Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The North also wants to ensure it has regained access to the international financial system, as the sanctions imposed on BDA kept other banks from doing business with Pyongyang. It was unclear whether the transfer from Macau would solve the wider banking problem to the North's satisfaction. The communist North, which sparked international outrage when it tested an atom bomb for the first time last year, agreed in February to shut down its nuclear reactor in return for badly needed fuel aid and diplomatic benefits. Pyongyang was to have shut down its Yongbyon reactor -- which produces the raw material for bomb-making plutonium -- by mid-April, but the deadline passed with no progress. The United States, China and South Korea had all expressed optimism in recent days about an end to the banking saga, and a North Korean official said earlier Thursday that he expected movement this week on the transfer issue. "Something will likely happen this week, I was told. I think it's a matter of time because they are talking about technical problems," An Kyong-ho was quoted by South Korea's Yonhap news agency as saying in Pyongyang. An is leading his country's delegation to four-day joint celebrations with South Korea marking the seventh anniversary of their historic 2000 summit. Christopher Hill, the top US envoy on North Korea, was Thursday heading to Mongolia and would travel to China, South Korea and Japan on his way back to discuss "potential next steps" to reconvene the six-nation talks, McCormack said, although he could not confirm any dates. "I just want this to be over and get back to what is important -- which is to get moving on to denuclearisation and we have got some time to make up," Hill said in Washington on Wednesday. The nuclear deal has been controversial in Japan and among US conservatives who accuse President George W. Bush's administration of rewarding North Korea. North Korea was slapped with international sanctions last year after test launches of several missiles in July and the October atom bomb test. South Korea said Thursday it would provide emergency aid worth more than 20 million dollars to ease acute food shortages in North Korea, but cautioned that regular shipments would remain suspended until the February deal is honoured.
Source: Agence France-Presse Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Banco Delta Asia Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Russia Agrees To Help End North Korea Banking Row
Washington (AFP) June 11, 2007Russia has agreed to help the United States break the impasse over a long-running banking dispute blocking North Korea's nuclear disarmament, the US Treasury said Monday. Moscow reportedly granted a US request for a private Russian bank to accept purportedly illicit North Korean funds currently frozen in Macau's Banco Delta Asia (BDA) before they are moved to Pyongyang. |
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