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N Korean nuclear deadline looms N Korea still unsure over funds
(30 minutes later)
US envoy Christopher Hill is due in Beijing for talks on North Korea's nuclear programme, as a deadline looms for Pyongyang to shut its main reactor. North Korea says it is waiting to confirm whether funds frozen in a Macau bank account have been released.
The Saturday deadline was set as part of an international deal designed to dismantle the North's nuclear arsenal. Pyongyang insists it will not start dismantling its nuclear programme, a condition of a recent international deal, until it has access to the money.
Progress has been delayed by a dispute over frozen North Korean funds, and the deadline is now unlikely to be met. The dispute has delayed progress on the deal, and the first major deadline - for the North to shut its main reactor by Saturday - looks unlikely to be met.
But now the funding row has apparently been resolved, and Mr Hill wants the North to fulfil its part of the deal. Earlier this week, the US said the funding row had been resolved.
He told reporters it was "time for [the North Koreans] to get on with their obligations". But the North has yet to withdraw any funds from the Macau bank in which the account is based.
But the North has still not claimed the funds, according to South Korea's foreign minister, and the reason for the hold-up is unclear. US envoy Christopher Hill is due in Beijing for talks on the issue, in an effort to move the process forward.
Funding disputeFunding dispute
Under a landmark agreement agreed in February, North Korea said it would "shut down and seal" its Yongbyon reactor within 60 days, in return for energy aid and other incentives from its dialogue partners - the US, China, Russia, South Korea and Japan. Under the landmark agreement agreed in February, North Korea said it would "shut down and seal" its Yongbyon reactor within 60 days, in return for energy aid and other incentives from its dialogue partners - the US, China, Russia, South Korea and Japan.
Those 60 days end on Saturday, but so far the reactor has not been shut down. Those 60 days end on Saturday, but so far the reactor has not been shut.
The deal has been delayed because of the financial dispute involving $25m (£12.7m) of North Korean funds, which was frozen in Macau-based Banco Delta Asia (BDA). Mr Hill has been touring the region to move the deal forwardThe deal has been delayed because of the financial dispute involving $25m (£12.7m) of North Korean funds, which was frozen in Macau-based Banco Delta Asia (BDA).
Mr Hill has been touring the region to move the deal forwardThe North refused to make any progress toward disarmament until it was given access to the money. The North refused to make any progress toward disarmament until it was given access to the money.
The deadlock looked to have been resolved on Tuesday, when the US Treasury Department said the Macau authorities would lift the freeze, allowing North Korea to obtain the funds. The deadlock looked to have been resolved on Tuesday, when the US treasury department said the Macau authorities would lift the freeze, allowing North Korea to obtain the funds.
This development appears to have come too late for North Korea to keep to its pledge, though. But there was no immediate response from Pyongyang, and no moves were taken to withdraw the money.
Analysts say that while Saturday's deadline will almost certainly not be met, it is unlikely that any punitive action will be taken against North Korea. Now, in its first public comments on the issue, the North's foreign ministry said it would "confirm soon" whether the funds had in fact been released.
Washington also failed to resolve the funding issue within 30 days, as it had initially promised. "The DPRK [North Korea] remains unchanged in its will to implement the 13 February agreement, and will also move when the lifting of the sanction is proved to be a reality," the ministry said in a statement carried by official media.
But now the money has reportedly been unblocked, there is definitely pressure on the North to start the process of shutting down its Yongbyon reactor as soon as possible. Since the US claimed that the dispute had been resolved, North Korea has come under renewed pressure to start the process of shutting down its Yongbyon reactor.
"We know that the money is available," Mr Hill told the Associated Press on Thursday. "This is not a matter of Macau, it's a matter of whether [the North Koreans] want to fulfil what they said they would do for the denuclearisation process.""We know that the money is available," Mr Hill told the Associated Press on Thursday. "This is not a matter of Macau, it's a matter of whether [the North Koreans] want to fulfil what they said they would do for the denuclearisation process."
Eager to move forward on the deal, Mr Hill has recently visited Japan and South Korea to discuss the next steps, and he is shortly due to arrive in China for further talks. He told reporters it was "time for [the North Koreans] to get on with their obligations".
Eager to move forward with the deal, Mr Hill has recently visited Japan and South Korea to discuss the next steps, and he is shortly due to arrive in China for further talks.
He said he was open to seeing North Korea's main nuclear negotiator Kim Kye Gwan during his Beijing visit, but he added that no meeting had so far been planned.He said he was open to seeing North Korea's main nuclear negotiator Kim Kye Gwan during his Beijing visit, but he added that no meeting had so far been planned.
Despite the delays, delegates from all sides are still voicing optimism that the landmark agreement will work.Despite the delays, delegates from all sides are still voicing optimism that the landmark agreement will work.
But the fact there have been so many problems in reaching the first of many steps in the process raises concerns about the long road ahead, correspondents say.But the fact there have been so many problems in reaching the first of many steps in the process raises concerns about the long road ahead, correspondents say.