A senior government official said Friday that North Korea wants to conduct normal international financial transactions once it gets back 25 million dollars in funds frozen at a Macao bank.

According to the official, North Korea wants the Banco Delta Asia funds transferred to a bank in another country, rather than receiving them in cash or having them transferred to a North Korean bank.

The official added that through a new account in a foreign country, North Korea will be able to make overseas financial transactions.

But South Korea’s chief nuclear negotiator Chun Yung-woo said that finding a foreign bank willing to deposit North Korean funds would be the most difficult task.

He said that through the process of resolving the BDA issue, Pyongyang will have learned the hard way the harsh realities of the global financial system.