US Treasury Department Deputy Assistant Secretary of Treasury Danny Glaser will be in Macau to discuss with the Macanese authorities over the frozen assets of North Korea, US officials said on Thursday.

Glaser will consult with the Macanese authorities, provide them with all the information "so that they can make a fully informed decision as to the final disposition of the funds that are in those accounts," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

"So it will now soon be in the hands of the Macanese authorities, once they have all of this information that they can possibly have," McCormack said.

Glaser is expected to hold talks with the Macanese authorities on Saturday.

The US Treasury Department announced on Wednesday a plan to resolve the financial dispute with North Korea by formally barring US financial institutions from dealing with the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia (BDA).

This move will clear the way for North Korea to recover at least some of the frozen funds in the bank. A total of some US$25 million are frozen in the Macau bank.

As part of the nuclear deal reached during the six-party talks in Beijing on Feb. 13, the United States agreed to settle the financial dispute with North Korea within 30 days. The United States has accused North Korea of using the bank to launder illegal earnings and North Korea has urged the United States to lift the sanctions.

(Xinhua News Agency March 16, 2007)