North Korea's Foreign Ministry on Monday said the country will promptly shut down its nuclear facilities in Yongbyon once it can collect its assets at Macao's Banco Delta Asia.

The ministry's vice spokesman told Associated Press Television News that the shutdown of the facilities can be implemented swiftly and will not take long.

The communist state has yet to claim its funds at the Macao bank, which were recently released by the U.S. after remaining frozen since September 2005.