N Korea vows to implement nuclear deal

SEOUL: North Korea on Monday reaffirmed its promise to disable its nuclear programmes under a six-nation deal, saying a months-long dispute over funds held at a Macau bank had finally been resolved.   

The statement from a foreign ministry spokesman in Pyongyang came one day before inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) were due to arrive in the North Korean capital.   

North Korea "is set to start negotiations on the shutdown of the nuclear facility and its verification with a working-level delegation of the IAEA in Pyongyang from June 26," the spokesman said.   

"The issue of the frozen funds has been finally settled," he added, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).   

He said the 20 to 25 million dollars, which had been blocked in 2005 on US allegations of money laundering and counterfeiting, would be used "for improving the lives of our people and other humanitarian purposes as planned".   

North Korea, which tested an atom bomb last year, in February agreed to a breakthrough deal to shut down its Yongbyon reactor in return for aid and diplomatic benefits.   

But it repeatedly refused to comply due to the row over the frozen assets, which were finally returned after a complex bank transfer via Russia.