The latest round of talks on North KoreaÂ’s nuclear weapons programme broke down on Thursday without PyongÂyangÂ’s representative attending a single meeting, saying negotiations could not continue until the US had met the initial requirements of last monthÂ’s denuclearisation deal.But Kim Kye-gwanÂ’s insisÂtence on receiving the $25m in North Korean-related money frozen at MacaoÂ’s Banco Delta Asia is likely to prove a hiccup rather than a major setback, analysts say. The US Treasury on Monday said it had authorised the return of all the $25m (€18.7m, £12.7m) – initially said to have been earned through counterfeiting and money-laundering – to North Korea but transferring the money is turning out to be a complicated process. “The major issue was that [North Korea] did not want to engage in substantive follow-up until the finalisation of the BDA issue had been achieved,” Christopher Hill, the USÂ’s chief negotiator in the talks, said yesterday. “ItÂ’s turned out that some of those details were complex.”
Under the agreement forÂged in Beijing last month, the US had to “resolve” the BDA issue within 30 days and then North Korea would shut down its main Yongbyon nuclear reactor and provide a full list of all its nuclear weapons programÂmes in the following 30 days. “WeÂ’re still on schedule to meet the 60-day requirements,” Mr Hill said.