BEIJING - The chief US envoy in nuclear disarmament talks with North Korea said on Monday he hopes moves toward ending Pyongyang's nuclear armament program can return to a tight timeline now that a banking dispute has been settled.

Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill speaks to the media in the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator, June 16, 2007. [Reuters]

Speaking in Beijing where he was meeting Chinese diplomats, Assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill said he expects the closing of the Yongbyon nuclear reactor, source of material for its atom bomb project, can take place in a matter of weeks.

Hill said Pyongyang could now move forward more quickly to disable the reactor, making up for time lost in negotiating the release of about $25 million of North Korea's money from a Macau bank.

"We believe we have some possibility of making up that time," he told reporters.

From a technical point of view, he said, disablement could take a matter of weeks, and he urged renewed momentum in the process.

"I think we do have to pay attention to timelines."

North Korea said on Saturday it had invited the International Atomic Energy Agency for talks on verifying and monitoring "the suspension of the operations of nuclear facilities."

Pyongyang's move followed the release of North Korean funds blocked in Macau for almost two years. Pyongyang's insistence on the release had stalled international efforts to begin closing the North's nuclear arms program based on a February 13 agreement.

Under the accord, whose deadline expired in April, North Korea must shut down the reactor and readmit international nuclear inspectors in exchange for fuel or other aid.

The six party negotiations in Beijing have brought together China, the two Koreas, the United States, Japan and Russia to seek a way of ending Pyongyang's nuclear arms ambitions, which alarmed neighbors when it staged a test atomic explosion last October.