No Lifting of Sanctions Despite Talks

Though North Korea stated on October 31 it would come back to the long-stalled six-party talks to resolve its nuclear crisis, the U.S. and Japan plan to continue their sanctions against the country for a while.

The South Korean government expects the talks will resume after coordination in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit meeting to be held on November 18 and 19 in Vietnam.

U.S. and Japan to Continue Sanctions-

The U.S. seeks to restart the six-party talks within this year while continuing to implement the recent UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution concerning sanctions on the North.

U.S. President George W. Bush said on October 31 that he would “send teams for executing the UNSC resolution and effectively pushing for the six-party talks.” To this end, the U.S. will form a special joint team of relevant agencies within a week or two to dispatch it to Northeast Asia, stated the U.S. State Department.

“North Korea’s return to the six-party talks alone cannot change the UNSC resolution on sanctioning it,” noted John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the UN.

Given the North did not make any specific act to dismantle its nuclear program, Japan will maintain its own sanctions against it and actively join measures against North Korea based on the UN Security Council resolution.

North Korea Confirms It Will Come Back to the Talks-

The spokesperson of the North Korean foreign ministry announced on the day, “[North Korea] decided to rejoin the talks under the premise that it and the U.S. will discuss and resolve the issue of lifting financial sanctions within the framework of the six-party talks.”

He went on to say, “Recently we have made defensive responses to the U.S.’s intensifying nuclear threats and financial sanctions,” reiterating that its test-launch of missiles in July and nuclear test last month were defensive measures against the “hostile policies” of the U.S. against it.

South Korea Optimistic about Early Lifting of Financial Sanctions-

At a meeting of the National Assembly’s unification, foreign affairs and trade committee on November 1, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Yoo Myung-hwan explained, “I believe North Korea expressed its willingness to resolve the issue of the Banco Del Asia (BDA) through the six-party talks. But this does not mean it will not come back unless the issue is resolved.” He also stated, “It seems the U.S. will soon make a conclusion on the BDA issue. It may take some time, but I expect the issue to be resolved sooner or later.”

Yoo also said, “When the six-party talks resume, the issue will be settled after the U.S. Treasury Department’s investigation finds out whether North Korea’s BDA accounts has anything to do with money laundering. Depending on the results, the Chinese government will decide whether or not to give the money tied in the BDA back to Pyongyang.”

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