Friday, December 22, 2006

North Korea rejects talks unless U.S. sanctions lifted

Pyongyang Friday said it would not return to negotiations unless U.S. financial sanctions were lifted.

The U.S. blacklisted a Macau bank that it alleges has helped North Korea pass counterfeit money.

Meanwhile a South Korean lawmaker said that movements spotted in the north indiate a possible further nuclear test. Many analysts feel that Pyongyang will resort to missile and nuclear detonation testing to get what its looking for on the negotiating table.

Russia's top envoy and Ambassador to China, Sergey Razov, left, urges North Korea's top envoy Kim Kye Gwan forward during a meeting Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2006, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. North Korea, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Russia and host China have been meeting for the third day during the resumption of the six-party talks over North Korea's nuclear ambitions. (AP Photo/Frederic J. Brown, Pool)
Russia's envoy and Ambassador to China, Sergey Razov, left, and North Korea's envoy Kim Kye Gwan during a meeting Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2006, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. AP Photo/Frederic J. Brown, Pool via Yahoo News.