U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill is currently visiting Hong Kong for talks on frozen North Korean bank accounts in neighboring Macau, amid growing tension over Pyongyang's recent nuclear test and subsequent weapons and financial sanctions from the United Nations, a spokesman for the U.S. Consulate General here said Sunday.
"He's coming to discuss with consular officials in the U.S. Consulate here the situation in Hong Kong. Anything that relates to the North Korean situation, assets frozen in Macau will be one of the issues certainly," spokesman Dale Kreisher said.
The U.S. banned transactions between Macau-based Banco Delta Asia and American financial institutions in September 2005, accusing it of serving as a base for the North's financial crimes, such as counterfeiting and drug trafficking. The BDA issue is arguably the biggest stumbling block to the resumption of the six-way talks, which involves the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan.
The North has said it will consider returning to the six-way talks if the U.S. lifts the financial sanctions.
Hong Kong, Oct. 22 (Yonhap News)
Hill visits Hong Kong for discussions on frozen N. Korean accounts in Macau |
