A second round of talks between U.S. and North Korean financial officials has begun in Beijing, to discuss U.S. financial sanctions against North Korea. China has announced that parallel talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons programs will resume on February 8, but Pyongyang says there will be no progress there until the financial sanctions are lifted. Daniel Schearf reports from the Chinese capital.
Daniel Glaser, the U.S. Treasury Department's deputy assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes, said he is hopeful progress can be reached during this latest round of talks.
But Glaser indicated Tuesday, as the talks were about to get underway, that the question of North Korea's allegedly illegal financial activities is a complex one that will take time to resolve.
"On our agenda is what's been on our agenda from the beginning, which is the opportunity to discuss the concerns of the international financial community, about illicit conduct in the international financial system," he said. "I know there has been a lot of focus on Banco Delta Asia and we'll certainly be talking about illicit conduct at that bank. We'll also be talking about counterfeiting and other related issues."
Glaser told reporters the talks would begin at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and would last at least two days.
The discussions center on financial sanctions that Washington imposed to halt alleged money laundering and counterfeiting by Pyongyang. The sanctions were initially aimed at a Macau bank, Banco Delta Asia, but other nations have limited their dealing with North Korean finance in response, restricting Pyongyang's access to the international banking system.
The action against Banco Delta Asia froze a North Korean account containing about $24 million. There are indications Washington might be prepared to unfreeze a part of that money, which is deemed to have come from legitimate business activities.
But as Glaser indicated, there are allegations of illicit activities by North Korea, including counterfeiting, that go beyond the Macau bank.
This is the second time in recent months that financial officials from Washington and Pyongyang have met in the Chinese capital to discuss the sanctions.
They also met last December, at the same time as six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons programs were taking place, but neither meeting made any notable progress.
The six-party talks - which also include China, Japan, South Korea and Russia - are aimed at implementing an agreement reached in September 2005, in which North Korea would end its nuclear programs in exchange for aid and security guarantees.
After the U.S. imposed the financial sanctions, North Korea boycotted the six-party talks for a year, and only decided to return after Washington agreed to discuss the financial matters.
The six-party talks are expected to resume in Beijing around February 8.
