NK talks extended

You have to delve a little deeper than the headline to learn that the main reason for the extension is that North Korea has not been talking at all, as they're still waiting for the 25 mil.

The press had reported that the issue was resolved, but NK wants to see the cash and that hasn't happened.

The visit of the Treasury's Daniel Glaser last weekend seemed strange to me at the time, why do you need a high-ranking treasury official to visit a little Macao bank so that the money can be released?

"The issue has to do with moving money from one bank account to another,'' Hill said. "It involves filling out a lot of forms.'' Envoys had been trying to conclude the current round of discussions today, Hill said yesterday.

Transfer Rejected

The Bank of China refused to accept the transfer, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday, citing Alexander Losyukov, Russia's envoy to the six-nation talks. The report didn't provide any other details.

Not knowing a lot about these matters, my speculation is dubious, but could Mr. Glaser have somehow put conditions on that the Chinese can't accept? China Matters thought that the Boltonites were behind the whole bank imbroglio from the beginning.

Anyway, tomorrow is another day. Christopher Hill is a patient man, good for him. We too are patient, let's see how it turns out.