John Negroponte, the deputy U.S. secretary of state, says North Korea will have to comply with its promise to shut down its nuclear reactor before the United States lifts financial sanctions it imposed. Catherine Makino reports for VOA from Tokyo.

The U.S. government has imposed financial sanctions on six more top Belarusian government officials in response to last year's flawed presidential election and opposition crackdown.

China's Foreign Ministry says six-country talks on North Korea's nuclear program will resume on February 8 in Beijing.

U.S. Treasury officials are in Beijing for this week's scheduled resumption of financial talks with North Korean officials. Pyongyang says it will not end its nuclear weapons capabilities while U.S. law enforcement actions block North Korea's access to international banks. VOA Seoul Correspondent Kurt Achin has more.

Envoys from the United States and North Korea meet in China next week to discuss U.S. financial sanctions on Pyongyang's foreign assets. The U.S. Treasury Department says Friday its top negotiator, Daniel Glaser, will lead a delegation to Beijing Tuesday.

Outgoing U.S. intelligence chief John Negroponte has said Iran is capable of weathering shocks to its economy at a time when Washington hopes sanctions will pressure Tehran over its nuclear program.

The Bush administration said Wednesday financial sanctions it is imposing on Iran are aimed at Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program and not intended to cause broad hardship among the Iranian people. The U.S. Treasury Department singled out a state-owned Iranian bank for penalties on Tuesday. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

While negotiators from China, Russia, Japan, South Korea and the United States were struggling to produce progress in North Korean nuclear talks, South Korean President Roh was assigning blame for the talks' delays.