BEIJING, March 19 (UPI) -- Some $25 million belonging to North Korea but frozen by U.S. sanctions in a Macau bank were released Monday as part of nuclear negotiations.
The announcement was made by Christopher Hill, the leading U.S. nuclear envoy, and U.S. Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Daniel Glaser in Beijing, the South Korean Yonhap news agency reported.
The move was part of a deal struck Feb. 13 that Pyongyang would shut down its nuclear facilities in exchange for oil from South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States, along with the lifting of sanctions.
"North Korea has pledged, within the framework of the six-party talks, that these funds will be used solely for the betterment of the North Korean people, including for humanitarian and educational purposes," Glaser said.
The funds were frozen in September 2005 when the United States claimed it was part of a money-laundering operation conducted by North Korea.
