Daedong is among several North Korean banks whose accounts in Macao's Banco Delta Asia have been frozen at the request of the United States over counterfeiting and money laundering accusations against the Communist regime since September.
The Macao government has taken control of the bank.
McAskill said that Daedong is free to take all necessary steps to protect its interests, including, going to court.
McAskill is also chairman of Hong Kong's Koryo Asia company, which owns 70% in Daedong. Of North Korea's $25 million on BDA accounts, Daedong or its clients own $7 million.
McAskill said the bank would like to handle its $7 million on its own and transfer it wherever it would be convenient for the business. McAskill said the bank had already informed officials in China, Macao and North Korea, and expected their reply in the next few days.
The bank's position may further complicate the situation surrounding North Korea's accounts in BDA, which were unfrozen early last week.
The parties have so far failed to find a way of returning the money to North Korea, as foreign banks have refrained from working with BDA after the U.S. Treasury banned American financial institutions from conducting any transactions with the Macao bank.
Authorities in China's special administrative area froze the $24 million account in the privately owned Banco Delta Asia (BDA) in September 2005, a move that prompted Pyongyang to withdraw from long-running international talks on its nuclear program
The unsolved problem actually disrupted the sixth round of the six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear program, which were held in Beijing in mid-March. The participants agreed to resume their negotiations as soon as the situation with the North Korean accounts had been settled.
Daniel Glaser, the U.S. Treasury Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, is currently holding consultations with Chinese and North Korean officials in Beijing on mechanisms to return the funds.
Daedong bank was established in the mid-1990s by Hong Kong's Pelegrine investment bank and sold to a group of foreign investors in 1998.
In September 2005, Hong Kong's Koryu Asia bought 70% in Daedong, and the remainder is held by another North Korean bank, Daesong.
Daedong mostly services Western companies active in North Korea and joint ventures. About $2.4 million on BDA accounts belongs to British American Tobacco, which has a subsidiary in North Korea.
