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SEOUL: A row over frozen North Korean bank accounts which is blocking six-nation nuclear disarmament talks will be settled within a week, South Korea's foreign minister said Friday.
"By next week, (the six) will resolve the Banco Delta Asia problem and discuss ways to begin the actual implementation stage of the February 13 agreement," Song Min-Soon told journalists.
Song said a delay in the money transfer to North Korea was "purely a technical problem" and "there was no strategic decision" about it.
The talks on scrapping North Korea's nuclear programme went into recess in Beijing Thursday.
North Korea refused to take part until it receives US$25m in funds which had been frozen at Macau's Banco Delta Asia (BDA).
The US in 2005 blacklisted BDA on suspicion it was handling the proceeds of North Korean counterfeiting and money-laundering, prompting Macau authorities to freeze the North Korean accounts there.
On Monday the US said it had cleared the way for the release of the funds, which were to be transferred to a North Korean account at the Bank of China.
The transfer has been delayed due to what have been termed technical problems.
"Because North Korea doesn't have much contact with the outside, it can be difficult even to transfer money. Likewise, there can be unexpected obstacles in the six-party talks," Song said.
Despite the recess, he said he and his US counterpart Condoleezza Rice are committed to the February nuclear accord.
They discussed the money transfer issue by telephone Thursday night.
Song is also due to talk to his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing later in the day.
The six nations - the two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan - reached an agreement on February 13 on scrapping the North's nuclear programmes, after it staged its first nuclear weapons test last October.
In the initial 60-day phase the North should shut down its Yongbyon reactor by April 14 and invite UN nuclear inspectors in exchange for 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil.
In the next phase, for which no time limit has been set, it should declare and disable all of its nuclear programmes in exchange for 950,000 more tons of oil or equivalent aid, as well as political and economic benefits.
Song and Rice also discussed negotiations on a US-South Korean free trade deal. They agreed to find a "win-win" conclusion and to be flexible over sensitive issues, a foreign ministry statement said.
The two sides will hold a ministerial-level meeting in Seoul starting Monday to try to reach a deal by the deadline at the end of this month. - AFP/yy
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