Wednesday, March 8 2006 15:28 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Seoul: North Korea will not return to nuclear disarmament talks despite having met with US officials todiscuss allegations of illegal financial activities, a Pyongyang diplomat was quoted as saying today(Mar 8,2006).

"We have a consistent position not to return to the talks in the midst of the continued pressure," said Ri Gun, director general of North Korea's foreign ministry, referring to Washington's crackdown on Pyongyang's alleged money laundering operations.

He was speaking after meeting with US officials in New York yesterday to discuss Washington's assertion that North Korea had used a Macau bank as a front for money laundering, Yonhap news agency said.

Yonhap quoted Ri as saying that he had presented the meeting with ways to resolve the dispute and was awaiting Washington's response.

"Today, the DPRK (North Korea) and the US had enough dialogue on mutual interests and concerns. We got to know each other's position and confirmed differences once again," he was quoted as saying.

"We're not at the meeting to be interrogated. It was a place where both sides explained their respective policy positions," he said.

Daniel Glaser, the US Treasury's deputy assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes, said the US side briefed the North Koreans on the action taken against Macau-based Banco Delta Asia (BDA) and measures to protect the US financial system from illicit activities.