The chief U.S. negotiator at talks on North Korea's nuclear programs says Pyongyang may already have its money back from a Macau bank and should shut down its nuclear facilities in a matter of weeks. As Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing, finding a bank to receive the formerly frozen North Korean funds has proven a big obstacle to restarting the nuclear talks.

The Interfax-China news agency reported that according North Korea planed to shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor in the second half of July.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill is heading back to Washington after a day of meetings with Chinese officials. As he left he reported no progress on resolving a transfer of North Korean accounts from a Macau bank. As Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing, North Korea has refused to move forward on a nuclear deal until it has the money.

The United States said Wednesday it still expects implementation of the six-party agreement to end North Korea's nuclear program despite a financial snag that has stalled the process. The deal has fallen more than a month behind schedule.

The top U.S. negotiator at North Korea's denuclearization talks says he expects Pyongyang will live up to its agreement in February to close its main nuclear reactor, even after missing a key deadline for the deal in April. VOA's William Ide has more from Washington.

President Bush and visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe say they see eye-to-eye on North Korea. The two leaders are urging Pyongyang to shut down its nuclear weapons programs or face tougher action. VOA's Stephanie Ho reports from Washington.

South Korea began talks with North Korea on possible aid despite its failure to make progress on an international agreement to dismantle its nuclear programs. The economic talks in Pyongyang, which run through Saturday, come as the two Koreas restore relations that suffered a blow last year following the North's missile and nuclear tests that rattled regional stability.

A special U.S. envoy to North Korea says he believes the communist nation will honor an agreement to shut down a nuclear reactor, despite the expiration of a key deadline Saturday. VOA's Michael Bowman reports, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson made the comment on U.S. television early Sunday.

Today is the deadline for North Korea to shut down its main nuclear reactor under a February 13 six-party denuclearization agreement. The move was meant to be North Korea's first step toward giving up its nuclear weapons program in return for energy aid and better relations with the United States.

North Korea has until April 14 to begin dismantling its nuclear-weapons program. Pyongyang agreed to take the first step -- shutting down the nuclear reactor at Yongbyon -- under a deal it reached two months ago with the other members in the so-called six-party talks: China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the United States.

The United States says authorities in Macau have released the frozen funds North Korea has cited as a reason for refusing to shut its nuclear facilities. The funds were blocked due to concerns about money laundering.

Japan says it has decided to extend sanctions against North Korea for six more months, as Pyongyang faces a deadline to shut down its main nuclear reactor. The Japanese sanctions were first imposed after North Korea's nuclear test in October 2006 and include a ban that prevents Japan from accepting imports from the impoverished North Korea.