AP: North Korea Nuclear Talks Deadlocked

[Eugene]

North Korea Nuclear Talks Deadlocked
North Korea's nuclear talks are deadlocked with no sign of progress,
Japan's envoy says

BEIJING, Dec. 21, 2006
By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press Writer

(AP) Talks on dismantling North Korea's nuclear arms program are deadlocked
with no sign of progress, Japan's envoy said Thursday, citing the North's
refusal to abandon its demand that the U.S. lift financial restrictions.

The envoy, Kenichiro Sasae, said the North's refusal to address its disarmament
was "extremely regrettable," and that one-on-one meetings between the U.S.
and the reclusive communist nation have not changed the "confrontational"
nature of the dialogue.

-snip-

North Korean officials are still angry about Washington's blacklisting of a Macau
bank in 2005 for its complicity in North Korea's alleged illegal financial activity,
including money laundering the counterfeiting U.S. currency.

Communist officials have made the lifting of U.S. financial restrictions its main
condition for abandoning its nuclear weapons program. The North agreed to end
a 13-month boycott of the six-nation nuclear talks because the U.S. promised
to discuss the issue.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/21/ap/world/mainD8M597L80.shtml

[BushOut06]

1. Of course the talks are deadlocked - Condi Rice is involved

Condi's idea of "talks" is having Kim Jong Il talk to her hand. I swear to god, I've never seen an administration so dead set against the idea of negotiations. Hell, we talked to Germany during WWII! We talked to the Soviets. We even talked to the Vietnamese during the war. Why the fuck can't Bush and Condi at least listen to what North Korea wants, and come to some sort of understanding?

[Eugene]

2. Update: N Korea talks end 'without deal' - BBC

Last Updated: Friday, 22 December 2006, 08:42 GMT

N Korea talks end 'without deal'

The six-party talks on the dismantling of North Korea's nuclear programme
have ended without any real breakthrough, officials are quoted as saying.

Despite five days of negotiations, the talks had broken up "without concrete
results", Russia's Interfax news agency reported one source as saying.

The talks involved the US, North Korea, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia.

They had resumed after a 13 month break, and two months after North Korea
carried out a nuclear test.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6202623.stm


Earlier from AFP...

NKorean nuclear talks set to end in deadlock, acrimony

21 minutes ago

BEIJING (AFP) - Six-nation talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear program
have appeared set to end in deadlock, with politicians and diplomats trading
accusations over who was to blame for the failure.

Officials and delegates involved in the talks said the forum had broken down
over North Korea's insistence that US financial sanctions against it be lifted
before substantive discussions began on Pyongyang giving up its nuclear arms.

Following its first-ever atomic test on October 9, an emboldened North Korea
unveiled a long list of other demands on Monday at the opening of the talks,
after boycotting the negotiations for the previous 13 months.

But the United States refused to buckle, maintaining the sanctions, which were
imposed for alleged money laundering and counterfeiting, were a law enforcement
issue and not related to North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

-snip-

Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061222/wl_afp/nkoreanuclearweaponstalks_061222074937