The designated Russian bank has not received the funds of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) transferred from a Macao bank, thus hindering an expected step to open fresh nuclear talks, a Russian minister said on Monday.

The U.S. Department of Treasury has guaranteed no sanctions against the bank involved in the money transfer, the RIA Novosti news agency quoted Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin as saying.

The Dalkombank (Far East Commercial Bank), based in Russia's far eastern city of Khabarovsk, however, has not yet received the funds due to technical problems, he told reporters at an investors conference here.

The reports did not specify the technical problems.

The DPRK has insisted that its 25 million U.S. dollars frozen at the Macao-based Banco Delta Asia must be returned before it closes the Yongbyon nuclear reactor and starts new talks on the Korean Peninsular nuclear issue.

The money was remitted last Thursday reportedly to the New York Federal Reserve and was expected to be delivered to the Russian bank.

Pyongyang, in response, has invited a delegation of the International Atomic Energy Agency to discuss the shutdown of its Yongbyon nuclear facilities under an agreement reached at the six-party talks in February.

The DPRK funds were frozen after the United States blacklisted the bank in September 2005 for allegedly helping Pyongyang launder money, an allegation denied by both the bank and Pyongyang.

Source: Xinhua