North Korea denies counterfeiting, urges US to lift sanctions
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-15 10:35

North Korea insisted Thursday that it wasn't involved in counterfeiting U.S. dollars and repeated calls for Washington to lift financial sanctions to resolve the international standoff over its nuclear weapons program.

North Korea has responded harshly to the sanctions, imposed for alleged illegal activities including counterfeiting and money laundering. The North denies the allegations and says it won't return to six-nation nuclear talks until the sanctions are lifted.

"No matter how often American political imbeciles may orchestrate farces of every form at their back parlor, it will only reveal the moral vulgarity of the Bush group and further deteriorate the standoff over the nuclear issue," the North's official Korean Central News Agency said Thursday.

"The only way for the Bush group to get rid of its present deplorable position is to lift its financial sanctions against (North Korea) and sincerely work to find a solution to the problem at the six-party talks," KCNA said.

U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Alexander Vershbow labeled the North a "criminal regime" in remarks last week, saying it was the first government to take part in counterfeiting since Adolf Hitler's Germany. The North said the remarks were tantamount to a declaration of war and called for Vershbow's expulsion.

This week, the U.S. Treasury Department issued an advisory warning again of the North's alleged illegal activities, cautioning American financial institutions to "take reasonable steps to guard against the abuse of their financial services by North Korea, which may be seeking to establish new or exploit existing account relationships."