DPRK and US hold financial talks

Source: CCTV.com | 12-20-2006 18:40

The DPRK and the US have continued consultations on the financial restriction issues.

A separate delegation from the US Treasury Department arrived at the DPRK Embassy in Beijing today to hold talks with DPRK bank officials.

It's the first time US officials have gone to the DPRK Embassy to discuss financial issues. Earlier, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury Department said the meeting was not part of the six party talks. But the DPRK's special envoy on foreign trade said removing financial restrictions is the first step in holding the six party talks.

Meanwhile, US envoy Christopher Hill has met with his DPRK counterpart Kim Kye Gwan for bilateral talks before an afternoon gathering of all six delegations at the talks. Hill said there had been no breakthroughs after the two sides met bilaterally for the first time on Tuesday afternoon.

US envoy Hill said, "These things do take some time, but at this point I don't want to say I'm pessimistic or optimistic. I really at this point just don't know where we are going to end up or when we are going to end up"

"You know, at the end of the day, what we are trying to do in this six party process is denuclearize the Korean peninsula, but we are also aiming - if you look carefully at our September statement at the normalization of relations among states."

Editor:Ji Xuewen