South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon was in Moscow on Tuesday for talks he suggested would focus on efforts to ensure North Korea keeps a pledge to start dismantling its nuclear weapons program.

The United States and North Korea have launched talks on normalizing relations for the first time in more than 50 years.

The United States and China have urged North Korea to honor agreements made at six-party nuclear talks last month.

The head of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says Iran has not convinced the agency of the peaceful nature of its nuclear program.

Iranian media today report that Tehran will issue a new high-denomination banknote marking the Islamic Republic's achievements in nuclear technology.

Although the February 22 report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran is not in compliance with UN demands to suspend nuclear fuel-making activities, several Iranian officials are saying the report has positive aspects and confirms that Tehran has not broken any nonproliferation rules.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in Sudan for two days of meetings with his Sudanese counterpart and other officials. The talks are expected to cover the situation in Darfur, Iran's controversial nuclear program, and economic and cultural projects between the two countries.

Iran's foreign minister says his country will never suspend uranium enrichment as demanded by the United Nations Security Council.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow remains worried about the possibility of U.S. military action against Iran over its continued refusal to give up its controversial nuclear program. Moscow has long favored a negotiated settlement to the standoff as VOA's Lisa McAdams in Moscow reports.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has told Iran it is making a "big miscalculation" in defying United Nations demands that it halt its nuclear program.

Diplomats from key world powers have begun work on a new UN Security Council resolution regarding Iran's disputed nuclear program.

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany will meet today in London to discuss further options to pressure Iran to suspend its uranium-enrichment program.