US envoy in bid to resolve North Korea restrictions

The main US envoy to South Korea said today that Washington will seek to resolve financial restrictions on the North that have hindered nuclear talks, after Pyongyang agreed to return to the negotiations following its nuclear test.

US Ambassador Alexander Vershbow said Washington has agreed to form a working group on the financial issue amid the six-nation nuclear talks that North Korea agreed this week to rejoin – the first sign of a relaxation of tensions after the North’s October 9 nuclear explosion.

“We want to resolve these issues because we do want to have a normal relationship with North Korea,” Vershbow said.

No date has been set for the next round of six-party talks but China’s Foreign Ministry expressed hope it would be held at the earliest possible date.

Meanwhile, South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun said the country “will continue to maintain the relations with North Korea in a friendly manner to safeguard our freedom and stability”.

At the United Nations, the 15-member Security Council approved a list of hundreds of items that could be used to make nuclear, chemical and biological weapons or ballistic missiles, and that are banned from trade with North Korea.