MOSCOW, June 21 (Xinhua) -- The transfer of 25 million U.S. dollars of frozen money owned by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in a Macau-based bank to the DPRK has almost been completed, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak told a Thursday press briefing in Moscow.

    "All the necessary agreements have been reached, all the guarantees have been given, and, in my opinion, the problem has been resolved," Kislyak was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.

    "It is now the question of pressing buttons, rather than making political decisions. The money is being transferred while I am speaking to you," he said.

    He confirmed that the bank receiving the money is located in Russia. "This is the bank chosen by our DPRK colleagues," the diplomat said.

    "We were glad to help and we intend to complete the transfer, resolve the problem and ensure further progress in the implementation of the agreements reached (at the six-nation talks on the DPRK nuclear problem)," he said.

    "We are very much interested in the success of the negotiations. We provided all the necessary assistance when we were asked," Kislyak said.

    The Russian side "did its best at negotiations with American partners to protect our banking institutions that participate in this transaction in their usual and predictable activities in Russia and abroad," he said.

    The DPRK, which failed to shut down its main nuclear reactor byan April 14 deadline as agreed in six-party talks in February, insisted that its 25 million U.S. dollars frozen at the Banco Delta Asia (BDA) must be returned before closing the Yongbyon nuclear reactor and starting new negotiations.

    The DPRK funds were frozen after the United States blacklisted the bank in September 2005 for allegedly helping Pyongyang launder money, an allegation denied by the bank.

    Pyongyang also denies the U.S. charges.

Chief U.S. nuclear negotiator arrives in Pyongyang

Li Geun (front, L), director of DPRK Foreign Ministry's America Bureau, walks with Chief U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill (front, R) at the airport in Pyongyang, capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), June 21, 2007. Hill arrived here on Thursday in the latest U.S. effort to convince the DPRK to halt its nuclear weapons program. (Xinhua/Xia Yu Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    PYONGYANG, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Chief U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill arrived here on Thursday in the latest U.S. effort to convince the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to halt its nuclear weapons program.

    Hill, who was invited to visit by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is the first high-ranking U.S. negotiator to visit in nearly five years.  Full story