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Frustration Builds About North Korea's Nuclear Process

By Daniel Schearf
Beijing
13 April 2007

North Korea still says it intends to abide by a February agreement to shut down its main nuclear facilities - but not until it confirms the receipt of millions of dollars previously frozen in a Macau bank. Frustration at the lack of progress is showing, as the chief U.S. envoy to the North Korea nuclear disarmament talks, a usually talkative diplomat, brushed past reporters with hardly a word on his arrival in Beijing. Daniel Schearf reports from the Chinese capital.

North Korea's Foreign Ministry says Pyongyang will "confirm soon" whether or not the money in Macau had been unfrozen, as promised by Macau authorities and the United States.

The ministry, speaking through the official Korea Central News Agency, said it would begin shutting down the Yongbyon nuclear reactor as soon as the money is in hand.

Negotiators have conceded North Korea will not likely meet a Saturday deadline to shut down the reactor, but have urged Pyongyang to begin the shutdown process nonetheless.

The chief U.S. negotiator on North Korea's nuclear weapons programs, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, allowed frustration at the slow pace of events to show Friday, when he arrived in Beijing for meetings with Chinese officials.

Hill has been saying that it is just a matter of days until the money is transferred and the shut-down begins, but this time, he refused to make any predictions.

"It's up to them," he said. "I'm not hoping for anything."

The six nations in the talks, North and South Korea, the U.S., China, Japan, and Russia agreed in February that Pyongyang would close its nuclear facilities and bring International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors into the country by April 14, in return for energy aid and diplomatic incentives.

Washington promised to resolve the dispute over the frozen North Korean accounts in Macau within 30 days. But there have been difficulties in finding a bank to accept the transfer of funds that Washington says have come from illegal activities.

Paul French is a Shanghai-based author and expert on North Korea. He says the banking conflict is not a deal-breaker, but is also not likely the last hurdle negotiators will face.

"There'll now be another issue about whether the inspectors go in next week or in three weeks or four weeks or when. These problems will happen all the time," said French. "But, at least we have a stated objective that everyone has signed up to."

North Korean officials told a visiting U.S. delegation this week they would invite United Nations nuclear inspectors back into the country within 24 hours once they had the money. This would be the first time the U.N. inspectors were in North Korea since late 2002, when Pyongyang kicked them out.