Clock Ticking on Nuclear Deal, North Korea Told

There is a limited amount of time left for North Korea to begin meeting its obligations under the February denuclearization deal reached at the six-party talks, a U.S. official said today in Pyongyang (see GSN, April 9).

Lead White House adviser on North Korea Victor Cha passed the message on to top North Korean nuclear negotiator Kim Kye Gwan during a meeting, a U.S. official said. 

Kim did not say whether Pyongyang would meet the 60-day deadline Saturday to shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor or allow international inspectors back into the country.  North Korea has demanded the return of $25 million in frozen funds before making any moves.

All nations in the six-party talks are “working in good faith to meet” the deadline, said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.  He did not say what might happen if the date passes without action.

The money matter “was more complicated than anyone could have imagined,” McCormack said, indicating the White House might accept a deadline extension.

North Korea would receive 50,000 tons of fuel oil and equivalent aid for taking the initial disarmament steps.  It would receive another 950,000 tons upon full denuclearization (Foster Klug, Associated Press/Washington Post, April 10).

Authorities in Macau are expected to soon release the funds held by Banco Delta Asia, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a release today.

“Now we need to move on from this banking issue to the real purpose of our February agreement, which is to get on with denuclearization,” U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said in Seoul.

The Macau Monetary Authority, however, only “noted” the Treasury Department announcement and indicated that the matter was not yet resolved.  Authorities from China, Macau, North Korea and the United States have spent weeks negotiating over the release of the funds, which Washington had linked to illicit North Korean financial activities, the Washington Post reported.

“The Monetary Authority of Macau will continue to coordinate all parties concerned in Macau to properly deal with this issue within the parameters of existing legislation,” the agency said in a statement.  “Simultaneously, it expects all parties concerned to come up with appropriate and responsible arrangements, respectively” (Edward Cody, Washington Post, April 10).

Officials from countries involved in the six-nation negotiations today again acknowledged the difficulty in meeting the deadline, Agence France-Presse reported.

“We are getting into a situation where it’s extremely difficult to do it within the 60 days as agreed,” said Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso (Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura, Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, April 10).

The Japanese Cabinet today approved extending by six months the sanctions placed on North Korea following its October nuclear test, AP reported.  Japanese ports will remain closed to North Korean ships and the ban on imports maintained (Klug, AP, April 10).

Meanwhile, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met today in Seoul with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, for talks on the nuclear standoff and other issues, Kyodo News reported.

“The two sides agreed to further strengthen the two countries’ cooperation to continue to achieve progress in the process of the six-party talks,’ according to a statement from Roh’s office (Kyodo News/Yahoo!News, April 10).

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