"After the resolution of all technical issues, the transaction will be completed. This is expected to happen on Monday," he said. The source highlighted that completion implies the receipt of the funds by a bank in North Korea.
Earlier, a government source was quoted as saying the operation will be over on Friday.
North Korea's $25 million at a Macao bank had until now been the main stumbling block at six-party nuclear talks, at which delegations from the United States, China, Japan, Russia, and South Korea have been trying to persuade the North to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.
The latest round of talks in March stalled over the funds. North Korea said it would close down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor once the transfer of its money had been completed. The funds were frozen in Banco Delta Asia at the request of the United States on accusations of money laundering and counterfeiting.
A Russian Far Eastern bank agreed at the weekend to handle the funds' transfer, and the North Korean government then invited monitors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect the reactor's facilities. Pyongyang has not allowed the UN nuclear watchdog into the country since 2002.
Participants in the talks have agreed that the new round should start only after IAEA experts present a report on their visit to the reclusive Communist state.
U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill, who concluded a two-day surprise visit to North Korea Friday, said he was satisfied with the talks, China's state agency Xinghua reported earlier.
The assistant secretary of state is the first senior U.S. official to visit the North since October 2002. The chief negotiator at the six-nation talks on the North Korean nuclear problem met with Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun and chief nuclear negotiator Kim Kye Gwan.
"We had a good discussion about the way forward at the six-party talks," Hill said. The diplomat urged for further negotiations, but said it was not immediately clear when the negotiations would go ahead. He also said the negotiators needed to make up for lost time.
