[imText1]It seems that the Bush Administration is contemplating releasing part of the $24 million frozen in a Macau bank, Banco Delta Asia (BDA), according to a Reuters article released on the 17th. Funds unrelated to illegal transactions may be released once investigations on North Korea’s accounts are complete.
An anonymous U.S. official said in an interview with Reuters that the Bush Administration was showing a fundamental desire to resolve the BDA issue and revealed that the U.N. North Korea sanctions and independent measures against North Korea’s illicit acts were of no consequence.
U.S. Assistant-Secretary Christopher Hill and North Korea’s Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan met in Berlin on the 16th (local time) to discuss the issue of BDA and resumption of the six-party Talks. There has even been reason to suggest a new breakthrough is being made on the BDA issue.
This official said that the U.S. Treasury was looking into releasing part of BDA accounts and that there was a chance that legal and illegal funds would be differentiated.
Nonetheless, the U.S. Treasury refuses to officially state its position on whether or not the investigations may result in the release of North Korea’s legitimate funds.
Until now, the U.S. government has taken a position that it was insignificant to separate legal and illegal funds in North Korea’s financial system, as the funds had all been obtained through counterfeit dollars or money laundering.
Analysts say that about $7.5mn of the $24 North Korean funds tied to BDA are British capitals and trusts associated to North Korean finances.
However, another U.S. high official said “They (the U.S.) are taking another look at this issue” and revealed “There is active discussion within the administration on whether to make concessions (on the BDA issue) and if so, how far, how fast and under what conditions” reported the news report.
This official indicated Assistant-Secretary Hill’s hope of the Treasury ending it’s sanctions on the BDA accounts.
Regarding this, the official expressed disapproval of the Bush Administration’s changed attitude towards North Korea and argued that North Korea cannot be treated as a trustworthy partner.
However, other governmental officials argue that blocking the development of deadly nuclear weapons is more important than North Korea’s illegal acts, and that this should not be subsided over the issue of counterfeit dollars and money laundering.
In response, another U.S. official stated that the only thing the North Korean representative wanted from the six- party talks was the resolution of BDA and the return of $24 million.
