BEIJING, March 22 (RIA Novosti) - Long-running talks to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear program recessed after Pyongyang refused to continue discussion until money is transferred from its unfrozen bank accounts, Russia's chief negotiator said Thursday.
At the sixth round of talks, which opened March 19 in Beijing, the United States agreed to unfreeze the $25-million accounts in China's Macao Bank, blocked on money laundering suspicions. But as the money transfer was delayed, North Korea's chief negotiator, Kim Kye-Gwan, left Beijing Thursday morning.
"It would be logical to halt the talks because it would be difficult to resolve the problem of North Korea's accounts in a day or two," said Russia's Alexander Losyukov, who is also leaving the venue of the talks.
Losyukov said the agreements reached during the previous round of six-party talks remained unimplemented, and the results of those discussions were now in doubt. The six negotiators on North Korea include Russia, the United States, North and South Korea, China and Japan.
Russia's chief negotiator said the talks had reached this critical point because the U.S. had failed to fully lift its sanctions against North Korea, and the transfer of Pyongyang's restored accounts had been delayed.
The Bank of China refused Wednesday to transfer funds from North Korea's unfrozen accounts after Washington banned U.S. financial organizations from dealing with the Macao Bank. Losyukov said the Bank of China also feared similar sanctions.
"As for money transfers through banks in some other country, these banks will also want to know whether they will be subject to [U.S.] sanctions, too," Losyukov said.
The Russian deputy foreign minister, Losyukov, also warned Russian banks against transferring money from the unfrozen North Korean accounts in Macao.
"Although we have not received any relevant application, I would not recommend any Russian bank or organization to handle such transactions," he said.
Losyukov called on the U.S. to provide guarantees that no sanctions or restrictions would be imposed on a bank in any country for mediation.
"The U.S. Administration should submit applications or written warrants that transactions with North Korean assets will not have consequences for anyone," he said.
Asked about the next stage of the talks, which have been continuing since August 2003, Losyukov said: "I don't think it is now necessary to convene entire delegations, and instead we had better entrust the issue to the working group on denuclearization."
National delegations are currently holding consultations in Bejing, the press center for the talks said. The Russian delegation is now led by Vladimir Rakhmanin, Losyukov's deputy and ambassador at large.
In October 2006, North Korea conducted a nuclear test and proclaimed itself a "nuclear power."
