hankyoreh

North Korea's latest statement on its intent to invite back nuclear inspectors is positive, but the Pyongyang government needs to act quickly, the U.S. State Department said Friday.

Department spokesman Tom Casey said the U.S. was "glad to hear" Pyongyang intends to fulfill its obligations under the Feb. 13 denuclearization agreement.

"Certainly the statement is positive," he told reporters.

Ri Je-son, director of the North's Atomic Energy Department, said through the country's news agency earlier Friday that Pyongyang intends to invite back inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as soon as a banking issue is resolved.

"The DPRK still remains unchanged in its will to implement the Feb. 13 agreement, but what matters is that it cannot move as the issue of frozen fund has not yet been completely settled," Ri said, referring to his country by the acronym of its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

South and North Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan signed on to the February deal that commits Pyongyang to shut down and eventually dismantle its nuclear weapons and programs. These first-phase actions, also to include bringing in IAEA inspectors, were supposed to be done within 60 days of the agreement, which was Saturday, April 14.

Pyongyang has been delaying its actions, demanding it must first see some US$25 million released from Macau's Banco Delta Asia (BDA). The bank had frozen the funds after the U.S. Treasury accused it of laundering money for North Korea. The Treasury formally sanctioned the BDA last month, forbidding American institutions from doing business with it, but agreed to have the BDA unblock the money in the wake of the Feb. 13 accord. Pyongyang, however, has yet to withdraw the funds.

U.S. sources have been saying that North Korea wants to be able to transfer the money to another foreign bank as proof that it can engage in normal international financial transactions. They say China wants the Treasury to lift its sanctions on the BDA. Macau is China's special administrative zone.

"I think the key now is they (North Koreans) finish out the arrangement with their bankers and actually move forward with the actions required of them," Casey said.

"The ruling that the Treasury Department made was a ruling about Banco Delta Asia. That should not have an impact on any of the arrangements that have been made for the release of those funds to North Koreans," he said.
Washinton, April 20 (Yonhap News)