N.Korea blames US for stalemate
(AP)
Updated: 2006-03-13 14:59

SEOUL South Korea - North Korea accused the United States on Monday of creating obstacles in nuclear disarmament talks by making what the North said were false allegations of illegal activities by the country such as counterfeiting and drug trafficking.

"The basic stumbling block to resumption of the six-party talks and resolution of the nuclear issue is the United States' hostile policy toward North Korea," the North's communist party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, said in a commentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

"Every time there are signs of progress at the six-party talks, the U.S. has created obstacles ... with fabricated problems of human rights, currency counterfeiting and drug trafficking," the newspaper said. "It is clear that while the U.S. talks about resuming six-party talks on the surface, in reality, it has no interest" in resolving the nuclear issue, it said.

North Korea has refused to resume the six-nation talks on ending its nuclear ambitions since November, demanding that Washington lift financial restrictions imposed on a Macau bank and North Korean companies for alleged complicity in counterfeiting and money laundering.

U.S. and North Korean officials met in New York last week over the U.S. restrictions, but failed to produce any breakthrough. Washington says the financial actions are separate from the nuclear talks.

The North said in Monday's commentary that a "resumption of the six-party talks and resolution of the nuclear issue depends entirely on the U.S. attitude."

South Korea, meanwhile, dispatched its top nuclear envoy, Chun Young-woo, to Japan on Monday for talks on how to jump-start the stalled nuclear negotiations.

Chun was to meet his Japanese counterpart, Kenichiro Sasae, on Tuesday to assess recent developments and discuss ways to reopen the negotiations, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said.

Also Monday, Russia's top diplomat in South Korea called for the U.S. and North Korea to seek a compromise to resolve the issue.

"Both sides may need more flexibility in approach," Ambassador Gleb Ivashentsov told foreign correspondents in Seoul. Still, he expressed optimism over the nuclear talks, saying "we view that some positive signs may come up" after the New York meeting.

In September, the North pledged to give up its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security guarantees, but no progress has since been made since then on implementing the agreement. The nuclear talks involve the two Koreas, China, Russia, Japan and the United States.