Rteacher
Joined: 23 May 2005
Location: Western MA, USA
|
 Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 1:20 am Post subject: North Korean gold could be key to resolving nuke crisis ... |
 |
|
Apparently, the real possibility of a breakthrough in the North Korean nuclear issue is based on easing restrictions on their selling of gold and other valuable mineral resources - which also require large-scale foreign investments to develop. (Who says we're only interested in areas where there's oil?  )
Here's from article in today's Christian Science Monitor:
...The Treasury ban, first promulgated in 2002, has effectively frozen the North's efforts to conduct international business. While it doesn't extend to gold, market experts say that US officials have made it clear that banks should not buy North Korean gold.
"The US has been using coercion, innuendo, and sheer force to intimidate banks from dealing with North Korea," says Colin McAskill, chairman of Koryo Asia Ltd., which invests in North Korea through the Chosun Development & Investment Fund. "We want to get a breakthrough on the six-party talks by getting the sanctions eased or lifted entirely. We're at a very delicate stage."
North Korea, says Mr. McAskill, "wants to move back into legitimate business." Selling gold on the London market - the world's largest - "is one way they can prove that," he adds. "They have a wealth of minerals - gold, silver, zinc, magnesite, copper, uranium, platinum - that needs investment to extract..."
Trying to build momentum for talks
The reluctance of buyers in London to deal in North Korean gold, widely seen as the likeliest legal way to mitigate the impact of the banking ban, adds urgency to another effort at six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons.
The chief US negotiator, Christopher Hill, has been traveling through northeast Asia, stopping off here, in Tokyo, and in Beijing after talks in Berlin last week with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye-Gwan. The Chinese are expected to set a date for renewing the talks, which broke off before Christmas amid North Korean demands for the US to lift the ban on Banco Delta Asia...
North Korea raised hopes for renewed six-party talks, saying "a certain agreement" was reached in Berlin last week. Neither Mr. Kim nor Mr. Hill have provided details, but analysts suspect that the two discussed the financial issue and its relationship to the ultimate purpose of six-party talks: getting North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20070122/wl_csm/obullion_1 |
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
