North Korea says will not return to six-party talks

NORTH KOREA: North Korea will not return to nuclear disarmament talks despite having met with US officials to discuss allegations of illegal financial activities, a Pyongyang diplomat was quoted as saying Wednesday.

“We have a consistent position not to return to the talks in the midst of the continued pressure,” said Ri Gun, director general of North Korea’s foreign ministry, referring to Washington’s crackdown on Pyongyang’s alledged money laundering operations.

He was speaking after meeting with US officials in New York on Tuesday to discuss Washington’s assertion that North Korea had used a Macau bank as a front for money laundering, Yonhap news agency said. Yonhap quoted Ri as saying that he had presented the meeting with ways to resolve the dispute and was awaiting Washington’s response.

“Today, the DPRK (North Korea) and the US had enough dialogue on mutual interests and concerns. We got to know each other’s position and confirmed differences once again,” he was quoted as saying.

“We’re not at the meeting to be interrogated. It was a place where both sides explained their respective policy positions.”

Daniel Glaser, the US Treasury’s deputy assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes, said the US side briefed the North Koreans on the action taken against Macau-based Banco Delta Asia (BDA) and measures to protect the US financial system from illicit activities.

“BDA was designated because its facilitation of North Korean illicit financial activity presents an unacceptable risk to the US financial system,” Glaster said.

“The Treasury Department will continue to take action as necessary to protect against threats to our financial system and our institutions,” he said.

Ri, who also serves as North Korea’s deputy chief delegate to six-party talks on ending the country’s nuclear weapons drive, said the future of those talks would depend on Washington’s response to Pyongyang’s position.

Pyongyang has denied US claims that the Stalinist state was counterfeiting dollars to finance its nuclear ambitions. The United States believes BDA helped Pyongyang launder earnings from counterfeiting US bank notes, trafficking narcotics, smuggling contraband cigarettes and other illegal activities.

The US Treasury Department in September told US financial institutions to stop dealings BDA. A month later the US blacklisted eight North Korean companies allegedly involved in the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

North Korea has insisted that Washington lift the sanctions for any resumption of the stalled six-party talks that have been held for the last two years among the United States, the two Koreas, Russia, China and Japan.

Seoul Wednesday (AFP)