N. Korea Wants Its Money Before Shutdown

North Korea will begin closing its nuclear facility when U.S. banking sanctions are lifted, the top U.N. nuclear negotiator said in Beijing Wednesday.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei broke the news to reporters after returning from an overnight visit to Pyongyang, Japan’s Kyodo news service reported.

Earlier in the day, South Korea’s Foreign Minister Song Min-Soon told reporters in Seoul there was no sign North Korea was dismantling its Yongbyon nuclear complex as it agreed to within 60 days on Feb. 13 in six-nation talks.

ElBaradei said he had assurances Pyongyang was fully committed to the February agreement, that they are ready to work with the agency to make sure that we monitor and verify the shutdown of the Yongbyon facility, including the plutonium factory, once the sanctions were lifted.

The matter involves about $24 million belonging to North Korean being held at Banco Delta Asia in Macau the U.S. believes was used in money laundering.

In exchange for the shutdown, the other five countries agreed to supply Pyongyang with energy equivalent to 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil within the 60 days.