China urged the United States on Saturday to show a bit more patience as North Korea appeared likely to miss a deadline to shut down a nuclear reactor. Under a multilateral deal struck on February 13, Pyongyang agreed to shut down its Soviet-era Yongbyon plant within 60 days.
But it seems it has not made good on that pledge because of millions of dollars frozen in North Korean accounts at a Macau bank. The United States has said the funds have been unblocked and that they should no longer be an issue. "We have reached our 60-day deadline and needless to say, this presents a concern that the deadline has not been met," US envoy Chris Hill said.
"The Chinese wanted us to show some patience for a couple of more days. There's a sense that the communication lines are open and the North Koreans understand the fact that these accounts are accessible to them." Hill said he hoped for a resumption of six-party talks before the end of the month.
"I hate to predict the day it's going to be resolved, except to say it should be resolved now." Hill said there had been a big diplomatic push to end the crisis. "We'd like to see a similar level of effort from the DPRK - a level of effort that, frankly, we haven't been seeing," Hill said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
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