The six-party talks would go into recess, a diplomatic source close to the talks said Thursday afternoon, asking not to reveal his name and delegation.

 

The six parties will meet around 5 PM and announce recess of the meeting, the source said.

 

It is also reported that chief Russian envoy Alexander Losyukov and chief North Korean envoy would leave Beijing Thursday afternoon.

 

The talks have been blocked since Tuesday as the North Korean delegation refused to attend the talks until its frozen funds at a Macao bank is fully transferred.

 

Chief US negotiator Christopher Hill told reporters Thursday morning when leaving hotel for a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei that the "paperwork" related to the transfer of the North Korean bank account had "made some progress," but he gave no further details.

 

The new round of six-party talks is supposed to end Wednesday. However, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Wednesday evening that the talks would be extended amid the stalemate over the frozen funds of North Korea at a Macao bank.

 

"As far as I know, the Bank of China refuses to accept the transfer of the frozen funds from the Macao-based Banco Delta Asia (BDA)," Russian representative Losyukov said at his hotel.

 

The US said Monday it had resolved a dispute with North Korea over roughly US$25 million at BDA after having agreed to a North Korean proposal to transfer the money to its account in Beijing.

 

The sixth round of nuclear talks is aimed at discussing specific steps in the initial phase of the February 13 deal, which says North Korea shall shut down its nuclear facilities while the other parties shall provide emergency energy assistance to it and the shipment will commence within the next 60 days. 

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 22, 2007)