May 4 (Bloomberg) -- Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator on dismantling North Korea's nuclear-bomb program, said he expects the country will live up to a promise to close the reactor at its Yongbyon plutonium-extraction site under an international accord.

``Throughout this tough period the North Koreans have continually indicated to us that they want to implement the February 13 agreement,'' Hill told an audience today at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies in Washington. Hill was referring to an agreement North Korea signed with the U.S., South Korea, China, Russia and Japan.

Doubts about the deal have grown since North Korea missed the April 14 deadline to close the Yongbyon facility because of delays in retrieving $25 million frozen by banking authorities at Macau's Banco Delta Asia SARL. North Korea demanded the release of the money, which had been linked to U.S. allegations of North Korean money laundering.

Hill said he is optimistic the money transfer can be completed in ``a matter of days.'' While ``getting the North Koreans their money has proved to be complex,'' Hill said, he added that he doesn't believe the Stalinist country is trying to use the banking issue ``in order to try to avoid their nuclear obligations.''

President George W. Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last week threatened North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il with a new round of sanctions if he didn't take steps to fulfill the nuclear accord.

`Eventual Abandonment'

North Korea agreed to shut down Yongbyon within 60 days of the Feb. 13 agreement for the purpose of ``eventual abandonment.'' Once the reactor is shut down, North Korea is supposed to receive the equivalent of 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil, with the promise of more assistance if further dismantling steps are taken.

The Yongbyon site, about 60 miles from the capital Pyongyang, includes a reactor opened in 1987 and a reprocessing plant to separate weapons-grade plutonium from spent nuclear fuel rods, according to a Congressional Research Service report.

North Korea agreed to allow officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect and monitor Yongbyon. The six-nation agreement makes no mention of the fate of the weapons that Kim may already possess.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Drajem in Washington at mdrajem@bloomberg.net; Judy Mathewson in Washington at jmathewson@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 4, 2007 18:00 EDT