SEOUL, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- South Korea's top nuclear envoy said Friday U.S. financial sanctions on North Korea should not hamper multilateral disarmament talks.
The remark by Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-soon came amid skepticism over whether the six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program can be resumed next month with growing diplomatic tension between Pyongyang and Washington over the sanctions.
In September, the U.S. Treasury Department suspended transactions between its financial institutions and Macau-based Banco Delta Asia after it was named as North Korea's money-laundering instrument. The bank has cut off transactions with North Korea.
The department also froze the U.S.-based assets of eight North Korean companies suspected of being implicated in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, which triggered Pyongyang's response. North Korea has reportedly canceled a planned meeting with U.S. Treasury officials.
"The (sanction) issue should not be negatively affect the six-way talks and must be addressed on the basis of objective facts and in accordance with international regulations," said Song told journalists just ahead of leaving for China to discuss how to secure progress at the nuclear talks.
He refused to elaborate, saying: "I am not in a position to talk about the North Korea-U.S. issue in detail."
