N.Korea gets more time to meet nuclear commitments

By Lindsay Beck and Ben Blanchard

BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States is willing to give North Korea a few more days to meet its commitments after Pyongyang appeared to miss a deadline on Saturday to shut down a nuclear reactor, a senior U.S. official said.

Under a February 13 multilateral deal, Pyongyang agreed to shut down its Soviet-era Yongbyon plant within 60 days but it seems it has not made good on that pledge because of millions of dollars frozen in North Korean accounts at a Macau bank.

North Korea has insisted the money be freed before it will comply with the agreement but the United States has said the funds have been unblocked and should no longer be an issue.

"Our patience is not infinite ... but we feel that given that the kind of unexpected complexities that did arise in connection with some of the banking issues that it's probably prudent to give this thing a few more days," a senior U.S. official who asked not to be identified told reporters.

North Korea said on Friday it would soon check whether it could access about $25 million in the accounts at Macau's Banco Delta Asia, which were frozen after the United States said it suspected the bank of being involved in money laundering.

Pyongyang, which conducted is first nuclear test in October, also said it remained committed to carry out the February 13 denuclearization agreement "and will also move" when the money in the Macau bank was released.

"It is time now for the DPRK to make its move so that all of us can move forward," the U.S. State Department said in a written statement, referring to the country by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The statement said North Korea must immediately invite back International Atomic Energy Agency nuclear inspectors and begin shutting down Yongbyon to get energy aid promised under the February 13 deal.