2 Koreas agree to talks on train tests

The divided Koreas agreed Friday to discuss historic trial runs of cross-border railways, as Washington cautioned Seoul against rushing to embrace Pyongyang before it takes steps to dismantle its nuclear program.

The meeting the Koreas _ aimed at winning the North Korean military's approval for security arrangements for the rail tests _ was the latest development in South Korea's efforts to mend frayed ties with Pyongyang after the communist nation pledged in February to shut down its main nuclear reactor.

Generals from the two Koreas will meet in the truce village of Panmunjom in the middle of the Demilitarized Zone for three days starting Tuesday, the South's Defense Ministry said. It will be the first such session in nearly a year.

Trains have not crossed the border in more than 50 years, and the South has yet to win approval from the North Korean military for security arrangements for the rail tests slated for May 17. Last year, the North called off planned rail tests at the last minute saying its military had not approved.

Earlier Friday, U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow told a seminar that "progress on inter-Korean relations should be closely coordinated with progress in implementing" the North's disarmament agreements.

Using an analogy to railway tracks, he said: "One rail is North-South engagement and the other is progress on denuclearization. The train needs to roll forward on both."

Since the February nuclear pact, South Korea has resumed regular dialogue with the North, which had been suspended after Pyongyang test-launched missiles and conducted a nuclear test last year.

Despite the North's failure to meet an April 14 deadline to shut down its main nuclear reactor, the South agreed last month to send 400,000 tons of rice to the North. South Korean officials later said the rice aid delivery depends on whether the North lives up to its commitment to disarm.

On Friday, Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung defended South Korea's policy of engaging the North as "something that we can never give up under any conditions."

While Lee declined to comment directly on Vershbow's statement, he gave reassurances that South Korea was pursuing engagement with the North "in parallel with" progress on disarmament.

However, Lee implied inter-Korean relations would not always be subject to disarmament progress, saying, "What comes first and what comes later should be decided case-by-case depending on the situation of that particular time."

The disarmament process has stalled over the release of North Korean funds at a Macau bank that Pyongyang insists is a precondition to stopping its production of atomic bombs.

U.S. and Macau authorities said last month that the North's $25 million _ previously frozen due to alleged illicit activities such as money laundering and counterfeiting _ was free for withdrawal. But for unknown reasons, North Korea has yet to take the money.

Vershbow said the holdup was a technical banking issue that would hopefully be resolved soon, putting the disarmament process back on track.

Still, he cautioned, "Based on North Korea's actions to date, we cannot be sure that they have made a strategic decision to denuclearize."

In Macau, an official told The Associated Press that discussions on how to transfer the North Korean funds _ which many banks have rejected _ were still ongoing.

"Next week, we will see more developments," said the official, who declined to be named because the official was not authorized to speak to the media. It's possible the money at Macau's Banco Delta Asia will be transferred to a Russian bank, the official said.

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Associated Press reporters William Foreman and Sylvia Hui contributed to this report from Hong Kong.