Free Republic

A British man who endured agonising earaches for 33 years says he can finally sleep easy after doctors removed a tooth from his ear canal. Stephen Hirst said he went to hospital for one final attempt to diagnose the source of the pain when the nurse made the discovery, the Daily Express reports. "The nurse put a suction tube in my ear and cleaned it, then she had a go with a microscope probe and finally used some tweezers," Mr Hirst was quoted as saying. "She said she couldn’t believe what she’d found in my ear and showed me the...

The report card is mixed regarding next-generation nonkinetic, or limited effects, weaponry ­developed by the U.S. and its allies. Cyber-warfare turns on three critical aspects--attack, defense and assessment. Information-technology industry officials say attack capabilities are receiving attention and funding. Defenses against cyber-attack have begun attracting support because of persistent adversaries who flourish in the Wild West atmosphere of the Russian and Chinese cyber-worlds. The big shortfall, they agree, is in battle damage assessment (BDA). "I'm trying to render an enemy system nonfunctional with a nonkinetic attack," says John Osterholz, BAE Systems vice president for integrated cyber-warfare and cyber-security. "How do...

N.Korea puts nuclear monitors' return on hold By Mark Heinrich Thu Jun 21, 12:38 PM ET North Korea said on Thursday a planned visit by U.N. nuclear monitors was on hold because it had not received unfrozen bank funds, shaking hopes Pyongyong would start disabling its atom bomb program soon. But Russia said later the $25 million, released as part of North Korea's nuclear disarmament deal with five powers, was on its way to a North Korean account in a bank in Russia. "All the North Korean funds are being transferred to a bank on Russian territory right now, as...

N. Korea invites UN nuclear inspectors By BO-MI LIM, Associated Press Writer Sat Jun 16, 1:44 PM ET North Korea invited U.N. nuclear inspectors on Saturday in the first concrete sign of a breakthrough in a stalemate over its atomic program, as the transfer of frozen North Korean funds at the center of the impasse neared completion. The North sent a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency, inviting inspectors to discuss shutting down its main nuclear reactor, as "it is confirmed that the process of de-freezing the funds ... at Banco Delta Asia in Macau has reached its final...

NKorea lashes out at U.S. despite progress on funds issue The Associated Press Thursday, June 14, 2007 SEOUL, South Korea: North Korea warned Friday it might increase its "self-defense deterrent," a term the communist nation usually employs for its nuclear program, even as its key condition for nuclear disarmament was being met. The warning came as the world waited for a positive sign from North Korea because a prolonged banking dispute with the United States was on the verge of resolution. North Korea blames the financial row for the lack of progress in fulfilling its promise to start disarming, and...

N. Korea funds transfer issue 'has concluded': Macao finance chief (Kyodo) _ Macao's finance chief said Thursday evening that issue of some $25 million in North Korea-linked funds that were frozen at a blacklisted Macao bank "has concluded," apparently indicating transfer of the money that began earlier in the day has been completed. "The BDA issued has concluded," Francis Tam, secretary for economy and finance, said in a statement issued by the Macao government, alluding to Banco Delta Asia SARL.

Russia in Breakthrough Over N.Korea’s Money The U.S. and Russia have apparently agreed to use a Russian commercial bank for the epically delayed transfer of North Korean assets from a Macau bank. The U.S. government is hoping that its chief negotiator Christopher Hill will therefore be able to fly to Beijing and resume stalled six-nation talks on the North’s nuclear program this week, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. North Korea has refused to return to the negotiating table until the transfer of the unfrozen assets from Banco Delta Asia is complete. According to the U.S. daily, Washington and Moscow...

Bush admits U.S. 'screwed up' over N. Korea banking impasse (Kyodo) _ U.S. President George W. Bush admitted during his talks in April with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that the U.S. government failed to fully read North Korean actions over the recent banking impasse, saying Washington "screwed it up," sources close to the Japan-U.S. relation said Thursday. The remark may be seen as a rare acknowledgment by Bush that the United States erred in handling the stalemate over the transfer of North Korean funds that effectively has held up the six-nation nuclear talks since March, the sources told Kyodo...

Wachovia bank considers NKorea cash transfer Thu May 17, 3:51 PM ET The US-based Wachovia bank said Thursday it was considering a State Department request to oversee the transfer of frozen funds back to North Korea. The move, if approved, could resolve a long-running financial dispute over 25 million dollars in reportedly tainted funds frozen in an Asian bank that has blocked progress on North Korea's pledge to start shutting down its nuclear program. "Because of our international expertise, we have been asked, on a non-profit basis, by the US State Department to help them process an interbank transfer of...

U.S. finds bank to break North Korea Impasse By Nicholas Kralev | Published Yesterday | Peace and Conflict , North America , North Korea | Unrated U.S. expects fund transfer in next few days By Nicholas Kralev The Washington Times WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration has found a U.S. bank willing to accept $25 million in North Korean funds, and officials hope the transfer -- the final hurdle to the closure of the North's main nuclear reactor -- can take place in the next few days, The Washington Times has learned. The resolution of the issue would end a weeks-long...

N Korea still to recover frozen $25m By Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington and Anna Fifield in Seoul Published: May 3 2007 18:38 | Last updated: May 3 2007 18:38 North Korea is having trouble recovering $25m (£12.5m) in previously frozen assets that are crucial to implementing the six-party deal towards denuclearising the Korean peninsula. Almost three weeks since the agreed deadline for North Korea to shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor, Pyongyang still faces hurdles in obtaining the money from Macao’s Banco Delta Asia, which North Korea insisted be released as part of the nuclear accord reached in February. A...

N. Korea Holds Off On Reactor Pledge Transfer From Macau Bank in Dispute By Edward Cody Washington Post Foreign Service Saturday, April 21, 2007; Page A12 BEIJING, April 20 -- Despite assurances from U.S. and Macau officials, North Korea said Friday it is still negotiating over possession of $25 million in North Korean accounts frozen by Macau banking authorities for 21 months. U.S. officials have repeatedly declared the complicated financial dispute resolved, but it has persisted in preventing implementation of an agreement Feb. 13 under which North Korea pledged to close its main nuclear reactor and allow verification by inspectors...

North Korea starts moving funds from BDA accounts Tokyo, April 19 (RIA Novosti) Holders of North Korean accounts at the Macao-based bank Banco Delta Asia (BDA) have started transferring their deposits, worth $25 billion, to other East Asian banks, the Japanese daily Yomiuri said Thursday. Under an agreement reached at the six-nation talks on denuclearising North Korea in February, Pyongyang was to shut down and seal its nuclear reactor, produce a list of other nuclear facilities and swap access to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors for energy supplies and other assistance within 60 days, a deadline which expired Saturday....

U.S. Treasury may have targeted N. Korea's gold sales In blacklisting a small Macau bank for accepting North Korean money based on allegations of illicit transactions, the U.S. Treasury may have been trying to block North Korea's gold sales. BY KEVIN G. HALL McClatchy News Service WASHINGTON -- An independent audit of a tiny bank in Macau found that the U.S. Treasury Department may have tried to blacklist Banco Delta Asia in an attempt to prevent North Korea from selling gold on the world market. The audit by international accountant Ernst & Young, obtained by McClatchy News Service, found that...

Macao Bank Challenges U.S. Ban as Politically Based By DAVID LAGUE Published: April 17, 2007 SHANGHAI, April 16 — The Macao bank that was a stumbling block to international efforts to dismantle the North Korean nuclear weapons program challenged on Monday a United States Treasury Department ruling that bars the bank from access to the American financial system. Banco Delta Asia, a family-owned bank that the United States has accused of committing financial crimes on behalf of North Korea, said in a statement that the March 14 ruling was “politically motivated” because it was based on disputes between the United...

April 15, 2007 North Korea Takes No Apparent Action as Deadline Passes By DAVID E. SANGER WASHINGTON, April 14 — The first deadline for North Korea to shut down and seal its main facility for manufacturing nuclear weapons fuel expired Saturday, with no apparent move by the North to fulfill its commitments, while China asked angry officials in the Bush administration to show patience. The inaction leaves President Bush vulnerable to attacks from hawks in his own party, who have argued that it was a mistake to return $25 million in frozen funds to the North Koreans — much of...

N. Korea Likely to Withdraw BDA Funds in Cash North Korea will probably have to withdraw US$25 million of unfrozen funds from the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia in cash. A South Korean government official on Sunday said the North wanted the money transferred to an overseas bank account, “but realistically there are too many difficulties. Both the U.S. and China are of the opinion that everything should be discussed between Macau authorities and North Korea." A diplomatic source said despite a visit to China by U.S. Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Daniel Glaser, Washington and Beijing have failed to find a...

N.Korea unlikely to meet nuclear deadline: report 1 hour, 36 minutes ago Pyongyang is unlikely to meet a mid-April deadline to shut down a nuclear reactor as the United States and North Korea remain divided over a transfer of the North's funds in Macau, a Chinese envoy was quoted as saying on Wednesday. North and South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia jointly agreed on February 13 to give North Korea 60 days to shut its Yongbyon reactor, which makes plutonium that can be used for weapons, in return for energy aid and security pledges. Japan's Kyodo news...

Talks on North Korean banking row enter second week in China Mon Apr 2, 6:11 PM ET Negotiations over the release of millions of dollars claimed by Pyongyang dragged into a second week on Monday, with no sign of progress in the impasse that has held up North Korean nuclear talks. Top US Treasury official Daniel Glaser was still in Beijing after holding days of meetings with Chinese officials on the issue last week, a US embassy spokeswoman said. "I can confirm that he is still here. We don't know how much longer he is going to be here," spokeswoman...

N.Korean bank threatens legal action By WILLIAM FOREMAN, Associated Press Writer Mon Mar 26, 11:13 PM ET A North Korean bank was threatening to derail a U.S.-North Korean financial deal that was crucial in getting the North to agree to disarm its nuclear program, a report said Tuesday. The North has refused to return to the nuclear talks until about $25 million of its funds frozen at a blacklisted Macau lender are transferred to the Bank of China. The fund transfer was supposed to happen last week, but the transaction has been delayed for reasons that haven't been fully explained....