North Korea nuclear talks to resume in Feb

Multilateral talks on peacefully dismantling North Korea's nuclear programme will resume in Beijing on February 8, China announced Tuesday even as the US and

North Korea began a new round of parleys on revoking economic sanctions on Pyongyang for its alleged money laundering activities.

"As a result of the consultations of the parties concerned, the third phase of the fifth round of the six-party talks on the Korean peninsular nuclear issue will be resumed in Beijing on February 8," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters.

The last phase of talks recessed in December 22 last year after five days of negotiations which yielded no progress with North Korea insisting on removal of the economic sanctions imposed by the United States.

The announcement came after a flurry of shuttle diplomacy among relevant parties, particularly the Berlin meeting between the top US negotiator Christopher Hill and his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan in mid January.

"The various parties have held helpful contacts on how to push forward the talks and implement the joint statement," Jiang said, adding "these contacts have laid the foundation for the early resumption of the six-party talks."

She said the upcoming talks will be "open-ended" and the duration will depend on the progress of the talks.

"We hope that all parties will continue to demonstrate positive attitudes, strengthen dialogue, enhance trust and fully implement the joint statement as early as possible and

realise the goal of denuclearising the Korean peninsula."

Launched in 2003, the talks involve North Korea, South Korea, the US, China, Japan and Russia.

Jiang said the key goal at the new round would be to take "substantive steps" toward implementing a September 2005 pact where the North pledged to abandon its nuclear programme in exchange for aid and security guarantees.

The announcement came as a US official, who is in Beijing for negotiations with North Korea over its alleged illicit financial dealings, said he was "hopeful" of progress on the

issue, which has stymied progress at the nuclear talks.

Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Daniel Glaser met with his North Korean counterparts in the US embassy Tuesday and discussed US financial restrictions, which were imposed due to Pyongyang's alleged smuggling and counterfeiting of US

dollars.

"We're prepared to go through these talks as long as it takes for us to get through our agenda," Glaser said, adding "I'm hopeful we'll make progress."

It is not clear how long the talks with last.

Pyongyang has tied the financial and disarmament issues together since Washington took action against the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia in 2005, accusing the bank of complicity in North Korea's alleged illegal financial activity such as counterfeiting and money laundering.

The latest nuclear row erupted in late 2002 when US officials said North Korea had admitted having a secret atomic bomb programme in violation a 1994 accord under which it promised to renounce all of its nuclear weapons plans.

The US retaliated by suspending promised fuel shipments. North Korea responded by expelling UN nuclear inspectors and quitting the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.

North Korea conducted its first nuclear test on October 9, last year, triggering UN sanctions.