Russia confirms North Korean money transfer to its bank

Moscow, June 23 (UNI) Russia today confirmed that previously-frozen North Korean funds from a Macao bank had been transferred to Dalkombank in Russia's Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk.

"The transfer of the North Korean money from Macao to a Russian commercial bank has been completed," the official spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Mikhail Kamynin told RIA Novosti news agency.

"We hope that the participants of the six-party nuclear talks will now take practical steps to implement Beijing agreements of February 13, 2007," Kamynin said.

North Korea's 25 million dollars at a Macao bank had until now been the main stumbling block at six-party nuclear talks.

At the February round of six-party talks with the participation of both Koreas, China, Russia, the United States and Japan, the negotiators agreed North Korea would shut down and seal its nuclear reactor at Yongbyong within sixty days.

In exchange, the United States would lift financial sanctions and the other participants in the six-party process would provide economic aid and energy assistance.

However, there emerged hindrances to the transfer of North Korean assets, earlier frozen on accounts in the Delta Asia bank in Aomen (Macao).

Now, Russia's mediation has helped settle the issue and North Korea has invited experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Participants in the talks have agreed that the new round should start only after IAEA experts present a report on their visit to North Korea.

UNI