USA: State Department says Macao authorities have unblocked frozen North Korean accounts at Banco Delta Asia

The U.S. State Department reports that authorities in Macao have released frozen North Korean accounts at a Macao bank, adding that the funds are earmarked for humanitarian purposes for the North Korean people. The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday (April 10) Macao authorities have unblocked about $25 million in funds in frozen North Korean accounts and urged Pyongyang to take steps to shut down its Yongbyon nuclear plant by a weekend deadline. The reclusive state has insisted it will only close the reactor, which supplies it with weapons-grade plutonium, once the funds linked to North Korean interests and frozen since 2005 in Macau's Banco Delta Asia are freed. Under an international deal agreed two months ago, North Korea has until Saturday (April 14) to shut down its Yongbyon atomic plant as a first step toward ending its nuclear weapons program. "The bottom line is authorized account holders as of now will be able to access the funds in those accounts," U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington. The Monetary Authority of Macau issued a written statement that made no mention of unblocking the accounts, but Japan's Kyodo news agency quoted an authority spokeswoman as saying account holders could now withdraw or transfer the funds. A Banco Delta Asia spokesperson also said the relevant account holders were free to do as they wished with the money. The funds were frozen after Washington accused the Macau bank of being involved in money laundering, a step that greatly complicated diplomatic efforts to persuade North Korea to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Pyongyang agreed in September 2005 to give up its nuclear programs in talks that include the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States but then refused to come to the talks for more than a year because of the financial dispute. After conducting its first nuclear test on Oct. 9, North Korea resumed talks that produced a Feb. 13 agreement giving Pyongyang 60 days to shut Yongbyon in return for energy aid. Furious that the money still had not been freed, North Korea in March walked out of a round of six-country talks. Christopher Hill, chief U.S. negotiator with North Korea, is scheduled to discuss the nuclear issue in Beijing on Thursday and Friday and to return to the United States on Saturday. The State Department said members of the six-party talks may consult over the weekend about whether the deadline had been met but said there was no meeting scheduled. Hill is also expected to meet in Seoul on Wednesday with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who was in North Korea this week to receive the remains of six U.S. soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War.

ITN Source | April 11, 2007

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