Talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear threat that ground to a halt over a stalled bank payment may restart soon as negotiators seek to focus on disarmament, the chief US envoy said on Friday.
Negotiators at the six-party talks in Beijing could reconvene after $25 million in a Macau bank passes to Pyongyang hands, meeting North Korea's demand to see the money before it discusses any nuclear moves, Christopher Hill told reporters before heading back to Washington.
The talks could resume in a week or two, he said. "As soon as we get this bank transfer done, we probably will put our heads together and decide whether we need to have another six-party meeting," Hill said. "I think that's quite possible, because there are a couple of things that we want to get done."
In Moscow, Russia offered North Korea the prospect of energy deals and a possible decision on writing off $8.8 billion in Soviet-era debt at a meeting on Friday of what used to be a regular bilateral economic commission. North Korea boycotted six-party talks for over a year until last December, blaming the financial crackdown, and Washington agreed to defuse their complaints as part of the February deal.