Talks between 10 countries were scheduled on the sidelines of Asia's top security forum here, after Pyongyang refused to rejoin a six-nation dialogue that it walked out of in November in protest at US financial sanctions.

"In order for six-way talks to resume, the US should lift its sanctions. This is our basic stance," North Korean delegation spokesman Chung Sung-Il told reporters.

"If the US sincerely wants a dialogue, they can do it and must do it."

North Korea will repeat its position in a speech later Friday at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum in Kuala Lumpur, Chung added.

He said it would also defend itself against the UN Security Council's condemnation of seven missile tests carried out by North Korea on July 5. The launches raised tensions across the region.

"It is sheer robbery to have unduly taken this issue to the UN Security Council and made it public," Chung said.

The stalled six-party talks involve the two Koreas, China, Japan, the United States and Russia.

Top US nuclear envoy Christopher Hill said those countries, excluding North Korea, would meet Friday with Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia and New Zealand.

"The North Koreans confirm to us that they do not want to attend any six-party process. We confirm to them that we do not intend to make the entire multilateral process hostage to the fact that they will not attend," he told reporters.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Thursday when asked if the grouping would discuss the North Korean nuclear standoff: "Everybody can express their views on regional issues."

In an apparent sign of the cooling mood, China's Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing stood next to Paek at a photo opportunity of regional leaders Friday but spent more time chatting to European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

North Korea walked out of the talks in November after Washington accused a Macau-based bank of helping Pyongyang launder earnings from fake US currency, and told US financial institutions to stop dealing with the bank.

The US says the clampdown on the bank is a criminal matter and should not be linked to the nuclear issue.

"There is no illegality there (at the bank)," North Korea's Chung said.

But Hill hit back, saying: "North Korea needs to get out of this dirty nuclear business.

"Frankly speaking, they need to get out of this dirty illicit activity, in particular the counterfeiting of the US dollar."

Frantic diplomatic efforts were made this week to get North Korea back to the negotiating table before US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the North's Foreign Minister Paek Nam-Sun arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

But North Korea said as soon as its delegation touched down here that it would not hold talks until the sanctions were dropped.

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