HONG KONG, April 11 (RIA Novosti) - Macao's Monetary Authority said Wednesday that North Korea could withdraw or transfer its unfrozen $25 million in a local bank.
The Communist nation's funds at Banco Delta Asia have been a sticking point in six-nation talks on the North's nuclear program. The money was to be released in mid-March, but disputes over its transfer have stalled the process, prompting Pyongyang to delay its denuclearization commitment.
The accounts have been unblocked, their owners can receive the money any time, Wendy Au, an official in China's administrative region, said without elaborating.
Under a breakthrough deal in February, North Korea was to close down its Yongbyon reactor by April 14 in exchange for economic and political incentives. But Pyongyang has insisted that the funds, frozen at the request of the U.S. over money laundering and counterfeiting charges, should first be released.
Pyongyang said earlier Wednesday that once the financial dispute has been settled, it would start shutting down the reactor and would complete the process within 30 days, missing a Saturday deadline, foreign media reported.
The reclusive state said it would also allow UN inspectors to monitor its nuclear sites.
But the owners of the North Korean bank Daedong, which holds part of the frozen assets in Banco Delta Asia, said they had received no information from Macao authorities that the accounts had been unblocked, said Daedong bank spokesman Colin McAskill.
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.
Although Macao authorities announced March 19 that the accounts were unfrozen and funds would be handled in accordance with clients' instructions, the situation remains unclear.
According to earlier reports, 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.
