PYONGYANG, North Korea, April 13 (UPI) -- North Korea said Friday it would implement a nuclear disarmament agreement once it verifies its money has been freed from a Macau bank.
Under that accord, North Korea had agreed to allow U.N. inspectors into the country and to shut down its Yonbyon nuclear reactor by Saturday.
Progress on the agreement had been stalled as North Korea waited for confirmation that $25 million in its money was released from a bank in Macau, where the United States had frozen it in 2005.
North Korea "took note of the announcement made by the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Macao administrative authorities on April 10 that they took a measure of unfreezing the funds of (North Korea) deposited in Banco Delta Asia in Macao." North Korea's Foreign Ministry spokesman said, in a statement carried on the country's official news outlet, the Korean Central News Agency.
The statement said a North Korean financial institution "will confirm soon whether the measure is valid."
Under the disarmament deal, North Korea would receive tons fuel oil in energy aid in exchange for shutting down its reactor.
