US, North Korea to Hold Talks on Financial Sanctions in Beijing
26 January 2007
The United States and North Korea will meet in Beijing next week to hold a second round of talks on financial sanctions against Pyongyang.
The U.S. Treasury Department said Friday its top negotiator, Daniel Glaser, will lead a delegation to Beijing next Tuesday to meet with North Korean representatives.
The two sides are expected to continue talks about North Korea's alleged money laundering and counterfeiting of U.S. dollars.
Last month, officials met on the sidelines of the six-party nuclear talks to discuss the financial restrictions, but they failed to reach an agreement. North Korea wants the sanctions lifted.
The announcement comes as several independent media reports Friday quote officials who say negotiations on North Korea's nuclear weapons program will resume in Beijing in early February.
Japan's Kyodo News service quotes anonymous sources who say North Korea, South Korea, Japan, the United States, Russia and China are making final preparations to resume those six-party talks on February 8.
The last round of six-party talks failed to achieve any breakthroughs.
The talks followed a North Korean nuclear test in October and were the latest effort to get Pyongyang to give up its nuclear ambitions in exchange for financial and diplomatic benefits.
Disputes over U.S. financial sanctions against Pyongyang were largely blamed for holding up the talks.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP.
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