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A group of Republican congressmen sought on Tuesday an evaluation of the legality of reported U.S. efforts to help transfer North Korean funds linked to illicit sources.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Florida), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and five other Republicans signed a letter asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for the evaluation.

GAO is an independent, non-partisan investigative arm of the Congress.

The letter follows a series of reports that the U.S. is working with Russian authorities to facilitate the transfer of some US$25 million out of Banco Delta Asia (BDA).

The Macanese bank had frozen the funds, traced to North Korean account holders, in late 2005 after the U.S. Treasury accused it of laundering money that Pyongyang allegedly pockets through illicit means, including counterfeiting of American currency and smuggling.

According to press reports, the money will be transferred through the New York Federal Reserve to the Russian central bank, and then to a commercial Russian bank, from which account owners can withdraw their money.

The banking dispute has been delaying a key six-nation deal aimed at removing nuclear weapons and programs in North Korea.

Pyongyang insists on obtaining the $25 million before implementing the agreement.

Ros-Lehtinen and others questioned whether U.S. involvement in the transfer is consistent with domestic laws and U.N. Security Council resolutions sanctioning North Korea.

The letter requests that the GAO evaluate whether all official actions undertaken in transferring the funds "are in keeping with the prohibitions regarding money laundering and counterfeiting" as stipulated in the U.S. criminal code.

They also questioned whether the resolution of the funds transfer would indeed guarantee fulfillment of the deal.

"If history is any indication, I have little confidence that the North Korean regime will adhere to any agreement despite our good faith efforts to honor our side of the bargain," the Florida congresswoman said.WASHINGTON, June 12 (Yonhap News)