A pro-Pyongyang newspaper on Friday hailed United States moves to resolve financial sanctions against North Korea as a ”landmark event”, raising hopes for progress in long-running disarmament talks.
North Korea has yet to give an official response to the US Treasury’s announcement on Wednesday that it had cleared the way for the release of about $25-million of North Korean funds frozen in a Macau bank.
However, a column in the Japan-based Chosun Sinbo gave the first hint that North Korea may accept the US deal and proceed with a six-nation accord signed last month that would see it begin dismantling its nuclear programme.
”In a rare development, the US has delivered, even if for form’s sake, its promise made at six-party talks,” the newspaper said.
”This is no less than a landmark event because the most overbearing and vicious regime in US history did so, kneeling down before a small country in the east which cannot match it in terms of national power.”
In its ruling, the US Treasury barred US banks from dealing with Banco Delta Asia, the Macau-based institution it said had laundered money for reclusive North Korea.
But the move allowed Macau authorities to decide what to do with the cash after the bank was left in receivership.
The chief US envoy on North Korea, Christopher Hill, insisted earlier on Friday in Beijing that the US had effectively ended the dispute with its sanctions-busting strategy.
”I think they [the North Koreans] want assurances that the financial issue is resolved,” Hill told reporters.
”Frankly, I think it has been resolved. We have already resolved it pursuant to our obligations.”
Hill, who had breakfast with Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, said he remained happy with proceedings, without speaking directly about the report in the pro-Pyongyang newspaper.
”We are in a pretty good situation after 30 days,” he said, in reference to the period since the six-nation disarmament accord was signed.
The sanctions issue was one of the major hurdles to the February 13 accord under which Pyongyang promised to begin shutting down its nuclear programme within two months in exchange for energy aid and diplomatic concessions.
A follow-up round of disarmament negotiations, which group the two Koreas, China, the US, Russia and Japan, begins on Monday.
Preparatory working groups have already started, including one on Friday aimed at setting up a permanent dispute resolution and security mechanism for North-east Asia.
ElBaradei, for his part, emerged on Wednesday from a rare visit to Pyongyang saying North Korea had told him it was committed to disarmament as long as the financial sanctions issue was resolved.
It was his first trip to the North since International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors were thrown out of the country in December 2002.
North Korea conducted its first atomic test in October last year but under global pressure signed the deal last month.
Under the accord, North Korea has 60 days to close down its main Yongbyon nuclear facility in exchange for 50 000 tonnes of heavy fuel and diplomatic concessions.
South Korea would provide the initial 50 000 tonnes while the US would share the cost of the first shipments to the North, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported late on Thursday.
The North would eventually receive the equivalent of one million tonnes of fuel aid if it completely disbanded its nuclear weapons programme. — Sapa-AFP