N Korea talks close to collapse

Kim Kye-gwan made no comment to reporters

Talks on North Korea’s nuclear programme appear to have broken down after its chief negotiator went to Beijing airport apparently to fly home.The move came after delegates at the six-nation talks made no progress.

The talks have stalled over the North’s refusal to discuss a deal to disable its nuclear facilities until it reclaims $25m held in a Macau bank.

Despite the setback, delegates still hope the North will abide by the deal, which was agreed last month.

North Korea’s chief negotiator Kim Kye-gwan made no comment after he arrived at Beijing’s airport.

North Korea had refused to take part in this week’s talks on the nuclear issue, until the Macau bank issue was resolved.

Frustration

The US announced on Monday that the North Korean money - worth $25m (£13m) - would be transferred from Macau’s Banco Delta Asia (BDA) to a bank in China, as Washington had completed an investigation into money-laundering allegations.

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But this was not enough for Pyongyang, which said it wanted to have the money transferred to a Chinese account before continuing to discuss the next steps in the disarmament plan agreed in February.

But the transfer could not happen immediately, leading to a deadlock in negotiations, and leaving the other five nations at the talks frustrated at the lack of progress.

“It’s a shame to use this as a reason to not take part in negotiations for two days. It’s really a waste, especially with everyone gathered there,” Yasuhisa Shiozaki, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, told a news conference in Tokyo.

The US chief envoy, Christopher Hill, also voiced his anger.

“The day I’m able to explain to you North Korean thinking is probably the day I’ve been in this process too long,” he told reporters.