The government also is fighting deflation shrinking prices for consumer goods and assets.

VOA: standard.2009.12.03

But the six-party talks have stalled over Pyongyang's refusal to accept a verification program for the declaration of its nuclear assets and activities that was agreed to last June.

VOA: standard.2009.04.14

"I am very confident that that would leave us in the position where the government is taking risks it does not understand, cannot manage effectively, highly vulnerable to overpaying for those assets, and charges that we are giving a disguised subsidy that is unjustified,".

VOA: standard.2009.03.24