Seoul, South Korea ? North Korea appeared increasingly unlikely to meet a weekend deadline to shut down its nuclear reactor, staying silent Thursday about whether it was satisfied with a U.S. solution to a financial dispute that has stalled the disarmament process.

The U.S., South Korea and China said the North has not withdrawn some $25 million that was unfrozen this week in a bank in the Chinese territory of Macau. Washington had blacklisted the Banco Delta Asia in September 2005 for allegedly helping the North launder money and pass counterfeit $100 bills.

North Korea cited the dispute in refusing to abandon its nuclear program.

U.S. officials and experts say the process of shutting down a reactor and having U.N. nuclear inspectors verify it probably would take several days – making it likely that Saturday’s deadline would mark the latest failure in a nuclear standoff that has lasted more than four years.

“It is difficult to have the expectation” that the North will shut down its reactor by the deadline, South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said today.

Song called on countries in the nuclear talks to be patient and not be tied to the deadline, while remaining committed to the North’s disarmament.

The problem in reaching the first of many milestones along the road to the North’s possible disarmament raises questions about how smoothly the process will go forward. It was unlikely that the U.S. or other countries would take any punitive action, however, as Washington also failed to resolve the bank issue within 30 days as promised.

“We have truly fulfilled our role in this and now it’s up to” North Korea, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said Thursday in Seoul.

The International Atomic Energy Agency still was awaiting an invitation from North Korea for a preliminary visit, a diplomat familiar with the issue said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.