MOSCOW, June 23 (Xinhua) -- Funds of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) defrozen from a Macao-based bank have been transferred into a Russian bank where it has accounts, Russian news agencies reported on Saturday.
"The transfer of DPRK's money from Macao to a Russian commercial bank has been completed. We expect that the participants in the six-party talks can address practical steps aimed at the implementation of the Beijing agreements of Feb. 13 "Mikhail Kamynin, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.
The expected 25 million U.S. dollars have been put into DPRK accounts at the Dalcombank based in Russia's Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk, Itar-Tass and Interfax cited sources from the Russian Finance Ministry.
"The money was transferred to Russia not directly but by way ofthe Federal Reserve Bank of New York," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Russia "has received guarantees of the USA that this operation will bring no negative consequences either for Russia or the commercial bank," it said.
The DPRK said last Saturday it had invited inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to discuss shutting down the Yongbyon reactor, as required under an accord reached in Chinaon Feb. 13.
Under the February deal, the DPRK was supposed to shut down the reactor within 60 days in exchange for some 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil or equivalent aid.
Pyongyang, however, insisted that its 25 million dollars frozenat the Banco Delta Asia 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, which the bank has denied.
TOKYO,June 23 (Xinhua) -- Chief U.S. nuclear envoy
Christopher Hill said here Saturday the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
(DPRK) may shut down the Yongbyon nuclear facilities "within probably 3 weeks."
Hill made the comments on arriving at the Haneda
airport after a surprise visit to Pyongyang earlier this week, making efforts
for the restart of the six-party talks over the denuclearization issue on the
Korean Peninsula. Full story
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