A stalled round of talks on disarming North Korea’s nuclear programme will be extended even though a dispute over when around €19m of Pyongyang’s funds will be released from a Macau bank is not settled, a Japanese diplomat said today.

International talks on North Korea’s nuclear programme stalled again today.

A fresh round of international nuclear talks opened today with negotiators inching closer toward setting a timetable for North Korea’s disarmament after the biggest obstacle hindering discussions was removed – £13m (€19m) in frozen North Korean funds.

Envoys met in China today to hammer out a detailed schedule for dismantling North Korea’s nuclear programmes amid efforts to resolve a sticking point over North Korean funds frozen in a Macau bank.

North Korea will not stop its nuclear activity unless its funds held in a Macau bank are fully released, the country’s chief nuclear envoy said today.

A Macau bank accused by US officials of helping North Korea handle counterfeit money has said it relied on the New York operations of banking group HSBC to check large deposits of US currency from North Korean customers, a newspaper reported today.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has told a Chinese envoy his country has no immediate plans to conduct another nuclear test but that US policy towards Pyongyang will determine the future, a report says.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il told a Chinese envoy that while Pyongyang has no immediate plan to carry out another nuclear test, whether it will do so in the future hinges on US policy toward the country, a news report said today.