WASHINGTON, April 7: A high-level US delegation departed for Pyongyang on Saturday after Washington announced advances that could pave the way toward North Korea dismantling its nuclear weapons arsenal.

A bipartisan team, led by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, left Santa Fe, New Mexico, at around 1545 GMT on a four-day trip at the invitation of North Korea to oversee the recovery of remains of US soldiers killed in the Korean War, officials said.The delegation, which was due to make a stop in Alaska later on Saturday, is expected to be in Pyongyang on Sunday late in the afternoon.

The trip was announced last week, prior to a breakthrough on Friday that Washington said could allow for the transfer of $25 million of allegedly illicit funds back to North Korea and subsequently advance nuclear talks.

The Monetary Authority of Macau, a Chinese territory, froze the funds in September after Washington accused Banco Delta Asia (BDA) of handling what it called illicit North Korean assets linked to money laundering, drug trafficking and counterfeit currency.—AFP