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US 'resolves N Korea funds row' | |
(9 minutes later) | |
The US says it has resolved a financial row with North Korea as talks on Pyongyang's nuclear programme resume in the Chinese capital, Beijing. | |
The US said $25m of North Korean funds frozen in a bank in Macau amid money laundering allegations would be transferred to an account in Beijing. | |
The North had said it would not proceed with a deal to shut its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon without the money. | |
The deal, agreed last month, will be the focus of the latest talks. | |
'Assurances' | |
US Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Daniel Glaser said the $25m, held in the Banco Delta Asia in Macau, would be transferred to a Bank of China account in Beijing. | |
Mr Hill earlier expressed confidence the issue would be resolved | |
Mr Glaser said the US had received "assurances" that the funds would then be used for educational and humanitarian programmes in the North. | |
The issue had been seen as a stumbling block to completing February's breakthrough agreement on the nuclear issue. | |
The six nations at the talks - China, Russia, Japan, the US and both Koreas - had agreed that Pyongyang would shut down its reactor at Yongbyon within 60 days in return for aid. | |
International inspectors would then be allowed into the site. | |
But North Korean negotiator Kim Kye-gwan had warned as negotiators arrived in Beijing for the latest round of talks that his country would not close the reactor without a deal on the cash. | |
Chief US negotiator Christopher Hill had expressed confidence on Sunday that the issue would "not be an impediment to our six-party process". | |
The US last week ended an inquiry into the bank affair, opening the door for Macau to free the funds. | The US last week ended an inquiry into the bank affair, opening the door for Macau to free the funds. |
Under the deal agreed last month, the North will receive aid worth one million tonnes of heavy fuel oil for dismantling its nuclear programme. | Under the deal agreed last month, the North will receive aid worth one million tonnes of heavy fuel oil for dismantling its nuclear programme. |
South Korean envoy Chun Yung-woo said Pyongyang had indicated it had begun preparations to shut Yongbyon. | South Korean envoy Chun Yung-woo said Pyongyang had indicated it had begun preparations to shut Yongbyon. |
Ahead of Monday's resumption, Pyongyang condemned joint US-South Korean military exercises set for this month, saying they were intended to "poison the atmosphere of the talks". | |
The state run Rodong Sinmun newspaper said the North was ready "for both war and talks". |