The United States will assess on Saturday whether North Korea has taken action to shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor, now that the communist nation has gained access to unfrozen funds, said U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack."It's now up to them, and we have to see," said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. envoy involved in nuclear talks with North Korea. "If they don't fulfill their obligations here, we'll know that very soon, and we'll have to deal with that accordingly."
Under a deal announced on February, North Korea said it would disarm its nuclear facilities in return for energy, financial and humanitarian aid. The agreement followed six-party talks involving the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia.
A major sticking point was the $25 million in North Korean funds, claimed by the United States to contain money from illegal activities, that had been frozen at the Banco Delta Asia in Macau since late 2005.
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