Did Roh talk about N.K. sanctions in Washington?

U.S. treasury secretary Henry Paulson paid a vist to Korean president Roh Moo-hyun in Washington D.C. on September 14.

Blue House, ambassador give different versions of the story

Controversy is brewing over whether President Roh Moo-hyun, while meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in Washington on September 13, asked Paulson to hurry up and conclude the U.S. Treasury Department’s investigation of North Korean bank accouts at the Banco Delta Asia of Macao.

The debate stems from the fact that Lee Tae-silk, Korea’s ambassador to Washington who was at the meeting, gives a version of the meeting different from that of Blue House officials.

Lee was quoted as saying that Roh told Paulson that the delay in the inquiry is "having a negative effect on getting the six-party talks going again." Lee made the alleged comment to Korean correspondents in Washington on September 18.

Lee said Roh asked Paulson to bring the inquiry to a swift end, to which, according to Lee, the treasury secretary responded that he would do something about the matter.

Lee’s version appears to conflict with the official Blue House version of events, which is that the issue of sanctions against Pyongyang was not discussed "at all" while Roh was in the U.S.

Blue House officials instead say the two leaders talked only of a "joint, comprehensive approach" to resolving issues relating to North Korea. They immediately moved to quell the apparent discrepancies between the approaches of their administrations, the officials say.

Song Min-soon, chief presidential seurity advisor told reporters that President Roh "merely asked about the inquiry into Banco Delta Asia, and did not make any requests regarding it." According to Song, Roh "said only that it is important that sanctions move together with an effort to resolve [the North Korean nuclear issue] through the six-party talks."

Blue House officials said they are looking into what Lee told reporters in Washington. "The government has been of the position that sanctions need to work in a way that fosters a resolution of the nuclear issue," and the ambassador may have spoken about what Roh said and the government’s position at the same time, said one official, who added that Roh "made it clear in a press conference following the summit that U.S. sanctions against Banco Delta Asia are being taken in accordance with domestic U.S. law." The official said that "Lee may have overinterpreted what the president said."