North Korea Blames U.S. For Nuclear Deal Delays

North Korea today faulted the United States for the stalled February agreement to freeze North Korean nuclear activities, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, May 29).

North and South Korean officials have been holding bilateral talks this week to discuss the provision of South Korean aid, a move that Seoul has slowed while waiting for the nuclear agreement to advance.

“Your side knows well why the implementation of the Feb. 13 agreement is being delayed,” said North Korean chief delegate Kwon Ho-Ung.  “The U.S. is responsible for the delay, not our side.”

“Because of the intervention of foreign powers, the implementation of what is agreed upon between the two Koreas is being suspended, and the inter-Korean relationship is being edged out by foreign powers,” Kwon added (Lim Chang-won, Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, May 30).

Pyongyang has refused to take the first steps until it receives about $25 million in accounts once frozen by a Macau bank under U.S. pressure.  Washington has approved the release, but North Korea has found no other bank to receive the funds that U.S. officials describe as tainted by counterfeiting and money laundering activities.

Lead U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill was scheduled to meet Chinese officials in Beijing today to discuss the financial snag, but he offered little optimism for a quick resolution.

“We've been wrong so many times in terms of predicting when this should happen,” he told reporters.  “The positive side is the North Koreans have continued to indicate they're prepared to do what they're supposed to do. The problem has been we've really had trouble resolving this issue in Macau.”

Hill urged North Korea to proceed with the February deal anyway.

“We will get it done [resolve the bank problem] but I think it would be helpful if the North Koreans got on with their tasks as well,” he said (Reuters, May 30).

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a decree to implement U.N. Security Council sanctions against North Korea, Interfax reported today (see GSN, ).

The order bans Russian government agencies, private firms and individuals from selling any technology or materials “that can potentially facilitate the implementation of North Korea’s programs related to nuclear weapons, other types of weapons of mass destruction or ballistic missiles.”

It also bars the sale of heavy military equipment to North Korea, including aircraft, tanks and warships (Interfax, May 30).

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