U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is urging China to use its influence to persuade North Korea to move forward with permanently dismantling its nuclear facilities. VOA's Stephanie Ho reports from Beijing.

North Koreans applauded the historic first performance in their capital by a U.S. symphony orchestra. VOA Seoul Correspondent Kurt Achin looks at an event some call a watershed in thawing chilled ties between the two countries.

Members of the New York Philharmonic are in North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, for the first performance by a U.S. symphony orchestra in the communist state. The event has been a magnet for global media attention, and many people see it as a small opening into an isolated, impoverished nation. VOA's Kurt Achin in Seoul reports.

The New York Philharmonic Orchestra has arrived in North Korea on a historic trip as the most prominent American cultural institution to visit the isolated country.

A senior U.S. nuclear scientist says North Korea appears committed to going ahead with a nuclear disarmament agreement, but wants promised energy aid first. VOA's Stephanie Ho reports from Beijing.

A senior U.S. congressional aide and two other Americans will travel to North Korea next week to discuss ongoing efforts to disable the country's nuclear weapons program.

A top U.S. diplomat has ended a three-day visit to North Korea without a complete list of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs.

A report by a Senate subcommittee says North Korea was able to channel money to its overseas posts through the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The report said the U.N. agency suffered from management deficiencies, making it vulnerable to manipulation. VOA's Dan Robinson reports, agency appeared at a hearing on Capitol Hill.

North Korea blames Washington for delays in implementing nuclear agreements reached at an October 2007 round of six-nation de-nuclearization talks, the Chinese Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday.

South korean president elect Lee Myung-bak said he would not shy away from criticising North Korea's authoritarian regime.

The chief U.S. envoy to the North Korea nuclear talks says he hopes the isolated Communist regime will be completely nuclear free by the end of 2008.

A team of experts in North Korea to oversee the disabling of its atomic facilities said they were satisfied with progress as the reclusive country prepares to host the US envoy to nuclear talks.