North Korea has confirmed its pledge to honor a six-nation agreement on scrapping its nuclear program once the dispute over its funds at a Macao bank is settled.

Under the terms of the six-way accord reached February 13th in Beijing, the deadline for the communist state to begin shutting down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor is Saturday April 14th.

North Korean diplomat Kim Son-gyong told French news agency AFP in Pyongyang that his country would fulfill its commitments under the February 13th accord once it receives its 25 million dollars from Macao's Banco Delta Asia.

Kim went on to say that the principle of "pledge to pledge" and "action to action" should be absolutely respected. He said that his government did not have the money in its hands, only a verbal statement from the United States, which had to be verified. However, he added, there was no reason to be pessimistic.

Meanwhile, the North Korean official warned that the Bush administration would be foolish to think that it could coerce Pyongyang, noting his government had conducted a nuclear test last October that he said was carried out "against unprecedented U.S. hostility."