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U.S. Official Sees No Concession on NKorea Assets  

The United States is prepared for serious discussion on the financial assets dispute with North Korea but will not make concessions just to encourage success in six-party talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday. . . .

Some experts have argued that the United States could show progress on the financial issues by agreeing to support an unfreezing of North Korean Banco Delta Asia accounts that relate to legitimate pursuits, like cigarette production.

But U.S. officials say the accounts are impossible to disentangle, partly because Pyongyang's entire economy is driven by criminal activity and hence all accounts are somehow tainted.

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