North Korea demands US lift sanctions
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-06 12:40

North Korea on Tuesday demanded the United States lift sanctions imposed over alleged counterfeiting and money laundering, saying multinational talks on its nuclear weapons program could not resume otherwise.

Washington in October imposed sanctions on eight North Korean companies it said acted as fronts for the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The United States said it also suspects North Korea of counterfeiting and money-laundering.

North Korea denies the allegations.

"It is our position that the six-way talks cannot be resumed amid challenging U.S. sanctions," the North's official Rodong Sinmun said in a Korean-language commentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

North Korea says Washington agreed in the latest round of six-nation nuclear talks in Beijing to hold negotiations on the sanctions issue. The United States has denied that, saying instead it would provide a "briefing."

The nuclear talks — launched in 2003 — involve China, the United States, the two Koreas, Japan and Russia. Their fifth and latest session took a recess in November with no signs of progress on how the North would disarm and what it would get in return.

At the fourth session in September, North Korea agreed to abandon its nuclear programs in exchange for aid and security assurances, but it quickly backpedaled by demanding a civilian nuclear reactor before disarming.