A Russian bank has received $25 million of North Korean funds which had been frozen in a Macau bank account, removing an obstacle to a deal over North Korea's nuclear program, Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

At this time the transfer of North Korean money from Macau to a Russian commercial bank has been completed, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said in a statement.

We consider that the participants of the six-party process will now be able to move towards practical actions aimed at realizing the Beijing agreements of February 13, 2007.

Authorities in Macau had frozen the funds after a U.S. Treasury investigation into money laundering. North Korea demanded the money be released before it would implement a disarmament deal.

Earlier on Saturday Russian news agencies quoted an unnamed Finance Ministry official as saying Dalkombank, based in Russia's Far East, had taken delivery of the funds.

Russia