Incredibly, the Bush administration delayed releasing North Korea’s assets. In April, the deadline for nuclear dismantlement passed without the DPRK’s completing this process because Washington had not met its part of the bargain.89 Yet North Korea desired a settlement, and, after gaining access to its funds on 15 June, invited IAEA inspectors to watch the shutdown of the Yongbyon facility. In response, the Bush administration announced its willingness to hold direct talks, as the president apparently wanted to register a major success in ending the nuclear crisis before leaving office. Rapid progress followed. In July, after the IAEA inspectors confirmed the Yongbyon shutdown, North Korea received 50,000 tons of fuel oil, mostly from Russia. That same month, the eighth session of the Six-Party Talks convened, with North Korea’s submitting what it claimed was all information related to its nuclear programs. Pyongyang agreed to total dismantlement of all its nuclear facilities by the end of the year, if Washington ended all economic sanctions and removed North Korea from the terrorist state list.90 At the ninth session of the Six-Party Talks in October, Pyongyang provided a detailed timetable for dismantlement of all its nuclear weapons facilities. By then, Republican politicians were assailing Bush and Secretary of State Rice for appeasement of North Korea. To placate them, Bush sent a letter to Kim Jong Il in December, expressing dissatisfaction with the DPRK’s description of its nuclear program, insisting that he provide complete and accurate information. He requested specifics on the number of warheads and amounts of nuclear fuel, as well as details about North Korea’s HEU program and involvement in promoting nuclear proliferation.91