US Treasury Department Deputy Assistant Secretary of Treasury
Danny Glaser will be in Macau to discuss with the Macanese
authorities over the frozen assets of North Korea, US officials
said on Thursday.
Glaser will consult with the Macanese authorities, provide them
with all the information "so that they can make a fully informed
decision as to the final disposition of the funds that are in those
accounts," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.
"So it will now soon be in the hands of the Macanese
authorities, once they have all of this information that they can
possibly have," McCormack said.
Glaser is expected to hold talks with the Macanese authorities
on Saturday.
The US Treasury Department announced on Wednesday a plan to
resolve the financial dispute with North Korea by formally barring
US financial institutions from dealing with the Macau-based Banco
Delta Asia (BDA).
This move will clear the way for North Korea to recover at least
some of the frozen funds in the bank. A total of some US$25 million
are frozen in the Macau bank.
As part of the nuclear deal reached during the six-party talks
in Beijing on Feb. 13, the United States agreed to settle the
financial dispute with North Korea within 30 days. The United
States has accused North Korea of using the bank to launder illegal
earnings and North Korea has urged the United States to lift the
sanctions.
(Xinhua News Agency March 16, 2007)
