A pro-North Korea newspaper published by ethnic Koreans in Japan reported Friday that U.S. government sanctions on a Macao bank are hindering the transfer of North Korean funds.

The Choson Sinbo reported that the U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctions on Banco Delta Asia for allegedly facilitating North Korean money laundering have prevented the bank from carrying out transactions in U.S. dollars, which has affected the transfer of funds in North Korea's BDA accounts.

The paper said that the Hong Kong-based HSBC has stopped making Hong Kong dollar transactions with BDA since mid-April, making it impossible to transfer the 25 million U.S. dollars worth of funds into Hong Kong currency as well.

The paper went on to forecast that a formal declaration to end the Korea War could be raised in the six-party nuclear talks and during the process of improving U.S.-North Korea relations.

It also said that Pyongyang is testing Washington’s commitment to ending “another war” by lifting the BDA sanctions, suggesting that resolution of the issue could end confrontation in other areas.