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Negotiators from South Korea and the United States urged North Korea to return to the negotiating table Wednesday as the communist country is boycotting the nuclear disarmament talks while awaiting the agreed-upon release of US$25 million frozen in a Macau bank. Chun Yung-woo, South Korea's top nuclear negotiator, said he did not understand why "we should waste our time waiting" for the financial issue to clear.

North Korea has been staying away from the six-nation discussions over its nuclear ambition since Tuesday, saying it will not return to the table until its assets at Banco Delta Asia are transferred to one of its accounts at a Chinese bank in Beijing.

Washington's chief nuclear envoy, Christopher Hill, said the agreed transaction has yet to be arranged, but noted it is not wise to boycott the nuclear negotiations over a banking issue.

"Certainly I think the issue of the nuclear weapons is a serious one and I don't believe it's in the DPRK's interest to hold up discussions on that over bank questions," Hill told reporters as he emerged from a lunch meeting with his South Korean counterpart Chun.

The DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The nuclear disarmament talks resumed here Monday, but little progress has been made amid the North Korean boycott.

Hill said the problem is that "you can't expect all these large delegations to sit around while it (the financial issue) is being sorted out."

The top South Korean nuclear envoy said he expected the talks to close later Wednesday. Hill said he would not be surprised if "there were a recess and we would be called back together at some point in the near future."

Direct dialogue between North Korea and the United States has been limited, though Hill held his first bilateral talks with his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan late Tuesday. Little progress emerged from that meeting despite Washington's apparent move to convince North Koreans that the financial issue is resolved, according to officials.

Still, the U.S. nuclear envoy expressed confidence that North Korea will implement its initial steps to denuclearize as agreed in a February statement signed here.

Under the Feb. 13 agreement, North Korea has to shut down and seal its key nuclear facilities at Yongbyon within 60 days in exchange for 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil.

"I do believe we can get there with all the commitments in the 60 days, but I look forward to much more in-depth discussions this week," said Hill.

"I do believe, based on my conversation with the DPRK delegation yesterday, that we remain on track with respect to the denuclearization," he added. Hill held a bilateral meeting with his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan Tuesday, the first such meeting for this round.

Seoul has offered to provide the first shipments of 50,000 tons of heavy oil to the North, but its top nuclear negotiator said on Tuesday that "there is no way" his country will start to ship the energy assistance until "we know when the nuclear facilities will be shut down."

Hill said the parties had a very good plan for the first 60 days and "elements of a good plan for the next phase," but said they needed to get moving.

During this week's round, the nuclear negotiators are hoping to spell out what secondary actions North Korea needs to take to further denuclearize following the first 60 days.

The February agreement calls on North Korea to disable its nuclear facilities and submit a complete list of all its nuclear programs to the International Atomic Energy Agency, but provides no specific time frame.

The negotiators are also hoping to set a definite date for a meeting of their foreign ministers proposed in the Feb. 13 agreement.
Beijing, March 21 (Yonhap News)