North Korean Money Remains Tied Up

Despite some progress in enabling North Korea to recover once-frozen bank funds, the problem continues and no timeline for its resolution can be predicted, South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said today (see GSN, May 17).

North Korea has said it will not begin to implement a February nuclear freeze agreement until it receives the $25 million in assets formerly frozen by the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia.  The United States has permitted the bank to release the money, but so far no bank has agreed to accept a transfer.

“The process of resolving technical problems is moving toward the direction we are aiming at, but its pace is not as fast as we had hoped,” Song told reporters today.  “I think it is too early to say when it will be resolved” (Agence France-Presse/ChannelNewsAsia, May 23).

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