Beijing: US and North Korean officials gathered in Beijing Tuesday for a new round of talks on their sanctions dispute, an issue Pyongyang insists is crucial to other negotiations on its nuclear program.

The head of the US delegation, deputy assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes Daniel Glaser, told reporters he would meet with his North Korean counterparts at the US embassy on today (Jan 30,2007).

"We are prepared to go through these talks for as long as it takes to get through our agenda. I think it is going to take a couple of days," Glaser said.

Glaser was expected to meet with O Kwang-Chol, president of the North s Foreign Trade Bank, who arrived in Beijing earlier Tuesday.

Glaser and O last met in Beijing in December on the sidelines of six-nation talks that are aimed at convincing North Korea to abandon its nuclear arms drive.

That round of six-nation talks held after North Korea conducted its first atomic test in October 9 made no progress, with Pyongyang insisting it would not compromise unless the issue of the US financial sanctions was resolved.

The United States imposed the sanctions in late 2005, accusing Pyongyang of money laundering and counterfeiting.

The sanctions have seen 24 million dollars of North Korean funds frozen in the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia.

China, which remains Pyongyang s closest ally despite voicing strong opposition to the nuclear test, is the host of the six-nation talks and has tried to broker two-way negotiations between the United States and North Korea.

The six-party talks also include Japan, South Korea and Russia.

Japanese and South Korean officials have said they expect China to announce a date for a new round of the six-way negotiations within days.

Japanese diplomats have said the six-party talks are set to resume on February 8, however China has remained silent on the date.