North Korea refuses to take part in nuclear talks

International talks on North Korea’s nuclear programme stalled again today.

North Korea is refusing to take part until it receives £12.5m (€18.4m) from a bank blacklisted by the United States, Japan’s chief envoy said.

Kenichiro Sasae said a meeting scheduled for this afternoon between the chief delegates of the six nations involved in the disarmament talks was cancelled because Pyongyang refused to attend.

“There was no progress at all today,” Sasae said. “China as chairman (of the talks) urged North Korea to come to the table but they would not come.”

The talks between envoys from the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, Russia and host China resumed yesterday shortly after the United States announced that a key sticking point – North Korean funds frozen in the Macau lender Banco Delta Asia – had been resolved.

US Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Daniel Glaser said the money would be transferred into a North Korean account at the Bank of China in Beijing to be “used solely for the betterment of the North Korean people”.

“According to China, North Korea said they will not come to join further discussions until they confirm that their money got into their bank account in China,” Sasae said.

North Korea boycotted the international nuclear talks for more than a year after the US alleged it was using Banco Delta Asia to launder money and process counterfeit currency.

The talks are aimed at dismantling North Korea’s nuclear programme.

Under a hard-won February 13 agreement, Pyongyang has until April 14 to shut down its main reactor and a plutonium processing plant, and to allow UN monitors to verify the closures.

In return, the regime is to receive energy and economic assistance, and a start toward normalising relations with the US and Japan.

The envoys had hoped to iron out details of the agreement during today’s meeting.

US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the top American envoy, also planned to meet today with his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye Gwan. It was not clear if that meeting was still on.