North Korea refused to attend a session of six-party talks on dismantling its nuclear programs yesterday while it awaits the return of US$25 million in frozen assets, diplomats said.
The refusal meant negotiators at the talks in Beijing were unable to make the progress they had wanted, but a South Korean diplomat insisted the problem would soon be resolved.
"According to ... China, North Korea says they will not come to the gathering until they confirm the transfer of the money," Japan's top nuclear negotiator, Kenichiro Sasae, told journalists. "In conclusion, there was no progress today [yesterday]."
Chinese foreign ministry officials also confirmed that the plenary session scheduled for yesterday afternoon had been postponed, but they refused to say why.
The US Treasury had announced on Monday that about US$25 million in North Korean funds frozen in a Macau bank could be released, although no timeframe was given.
The announcement, ending a dispute that had held up the disarmament process, added an air of optimism as envoys met on Monday in Beijing for the latest round of talks.
Although North Korea welcomed the US decision, it had made clear it wanted the money safely back in its hands before going any further in the six-party process, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper in Japan reported.
"The DPRK [North Korea] insists that the issue will be fully resolved only when the release of frozen funds is confirmed," the Chosun Sinbo said on its Web site yesterday.
A South Korean official involved in the six-nation talks said the chief envoys from North Korea and the US met bilaterally yesterday and that the money was expected to be delivered very soon.
"The issue is expected to be resolved tonight at the earliest or early tomorrow morning at the latest. We expect to have substantive discussions tomorrow," the official told reporters.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he had based his remarks on comments made by chief North Korean envoy Kim Kye-gwan.
Authorities in Macau, where the money has been frozen since 2005, said on Monday they would release the money to a North Korean bank account in Beijing, but did not say when.
Abductees
Meanwhile, Japan said yesterday it will license a private radio station to broadcast messages of support to potential Japanese abduction survivors living in North Korea.
Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Yoshihide Suga told a press conference the ministry plans to approve the license tomorrow, ministry official Michinari Motohashi said.
A support group, based in Tokyo, has been transmitting 30-minute programs twice daily via shortwave since late 2005. But the group has had to commission a British broadcaster because it had no license to operate in Japan, according to group member Kenji Murao.
Kyodo News agency said the British company transmitted the programs for the group via facilities in North Korea's neighboring countries.
"The abduction victims are waiting to be rescued as early as possible," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a group of reporters yesterday. "We have the responsibility to have the abducted people return to Japan. It was a decision made from this viewpoint."
"It was regrettable that [the group] has not been able to send messages from Japan until now," the communication minister was quoted as saying by Motohashi. "The license will allow constant and stable release of information from Japan. I'd be very happy if this leads to the early resolution of the kidnapping issue."
North Korea admitted in 2002 that it kidnapped 13 Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s. North Korea sent five of them home later that year, but insisted the rest were dead. Japan has demanded proof and says more of its citizens may have been taken.
Earlier this month, the government announced plans to launch a television ad campaign to boost public support for the kidnapping issue.
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