Seoul's Yonhap news agency, quoting an unnamed Banco Delta Asia (BDA) official, said Pyongyang last week asked Macau authorities to help transfer the money, worth some 25 million dollars, from the Macau bank.

Yonhap said the BDA official expected the funds to be remitted online to North Korea with Singapore, Vietnam and Mongolia possibly involved.

"On April 27, North Korea asked for help from the Macau financial authorities with regards to the money transfer. The financial authorities have ordered BDA to prepare for the money transfer," the official said.

"It is highly likely that the transfer will be made very soon."

Yonhap said the funds were held under 52 accounts in eight currencies -- including US and Hong Kong dollars, Japanese yen, euros and Swiss francs.

The delayed transfer has hampered progress in six party talks -- involving the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States -- aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

Under a landmark February 13 agreement, North Korea should have shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor in the presence of UN inspectors as the first step in scrapping its nuclear programmes by April 14.

But the deadline slipped by due to an unresolved dispute over the funds frozen at a Macau bank since 2005 at US instigation over allegations of money laundering and counterfeiting.

Pyongyang has refused to act until it gets the money back.

South Korea's spy agency, citing activity in building new accommodation facilities in Yongbyon, said Thursday North Korea may be preparing to invite UN atomic inspectors back, as a prelude to shutting it down.

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