Future of the talks

Regarding North Korea's insistence on the release of its funds, Shi Yinhong, international relations expert and professor at Renmin University of China said that North Korea was not actually targeting the money, but what the money represents-a symbolic victory over its opponent in the diplomatic game.

"North Korean leaders hope to stress that even if North Korea closes all its nuclear facilities, the leaders had fulfilled all of the interests they possibly could," said Shi.

"North Korea's denuclearization will not be achieved easily or rapidly, but the bright prospects from the six-party talks are worth waiting for," said Zhu Feng, professor at the School of International Studies of Peking University.

Zhu said resolving the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula is the only choice for the Bush administration if it wants to make progress on the Iranian nuclear issue, providing a reason for America's compromise on releasing North Korea's frozen funds.

He also predicted that, to make further progress, high-ranking American officials would like to visit North Korea after this round of the talks, while the North Korean side might remain passive. South Korea will be the most active party in promoting the talks, he said, as it has announced that it will resume aid to North Korea in the form of 50,000 tons of heavy oil valued at about $13.4 million.

Regarding negotiations on the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and North Korea, Zhu said Japan would not easily change its stance, which is that the issue of the abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korea must be resolved as a precondition to further talks.

Despite the adjournment of the six-party talks, the countries involved have continued to work toward a resolution of the issues. U.S. Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Daniel Glaser arrived in Beijing on March 25 to discuss the issue of frozen funds. China also suggested that, to safeguard the financial stability of the Macao Special Administrative Region, the United States should consult and negotiate with the Macao Government to address the concerns over the issue.

Experts believe that as soon as the transfer problem is settled, the six-party talks will resume, and say that all parties should try to create and maintain a peaceful and trustful atmosphere to facilitate discussions.