North Korea's news agency has warned the United States that it might bolster its so-called "self-defense" program, just as a key condition for nuclear disarmament appears to be nearly met.

There is still no final decision on whether to put North Korean funds, which had been frozen in a Macau bank account, back in Pyongyang's hands, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.

South Korea's decision to resume food aid to North Korea is based on humanitarian concerns and is not linked to the standoff over neighbor's nuclear program, a top official said Thursday.

The United States and Russia are reported to have arranged for banks to resolve a financial dispute over frozen North Korean funds. The issue has been a major sticking point holding up Pyongyang's movement on a nuclear disarmament agreement it signed on to in February.

South Korea says North Korea has test fired missiles into the waters off its coast. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns has the Bush administration reaction from Germany, where President Bush is attending the G-8 summit of the leading industrialized nations.

Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said that the U.S. asked his country to help resolve a banking dispute that has stalled North Korea's nuclear disarmament process.

The foreign ministers of South Korea, China and Japan agreed to cooperate closely with their regional partners on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

Talks between North and South Korea have faltered, with the two sides producing no substantial agreement despite talking since Tuesday. As VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Seoul, the main sticking point is Seoul's refusal to send aid across the border until the North implements a nuclear disarmament agreement.

A top U.S. diplomat briefed Indonesian leaders about the North Korean nuclear standoff Tuesday, saying Indonesia has an important role in global affairs as a new, non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.

South Korean officials say it is unlikely that massive rice shipments will be sent to North Korea by the end of the month, as previously scheduled. The impoverished North, which badly needs food and basic supplies, has not taken initial steps it promised towards ending its nuclear weapons program. As VOA Seoul correspondent Kurt Achin reports, North Korean officials are using a diplomatic forum in the Philippines to warn Pyongyang's disarmament will not come quickly.

Senior U.S. and Japanese cabinet members Tuesday called on North Korea to immediately fulfill its part of the February six-party agreement on its nuclear program. The issue figured heavily in Washington talks Tuesday involving Rice, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and their Japanese counterparts. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

A pro-Pyongyang newspaper said Friday that before North Korea would act on a nuclear disarmament pledge it wanted to regain access to the international financial system.