U.S. says ’no timeline’ for Macao investigation

Roh allegedly asked U.S. treasury secretary to speed up probe

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on September 20 that no deadline has been set for the U.S. investigation into Banco Delta Asia, which was accused of being involved in North Korea’s money counterfeiting. The remark was reported by Japan’s Kyodo News from Beijing.

Asked about the status of the U.S. government’s investigation into the Macau-based bank - which has so far gone on for nearly a year, and resulted in the freezing of North Korean funds by the bank - Paulson said in a press conference in Beijing that the matter is one of legal enforcement and it will continue until the issue is resolved appropriately.

The reported remarks by Paulson drew attention as they came amid media reports that South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun asked Paulson on September 13 to bring the investigation to a swift close.

The South Korean presidential office has denied that President Roh made the remark to Paulson, which was alleged by South Korean ambassador to the U.S. Lee Tae-shik. Blue House spokesman Yoon Tae-young said, "While President Roh told Paulson it is appropriate for the U.S. [and South Korea] to harmonize their law enforcement and efforts to resume the six-nation talks, Roh did not mention an early end of the Banco Delta Asia investigation."

North Korea has said it will not return to the six-nation talks unless the U.S. lifts financial restrictions against Pyongyang.