North Korea has warned it will "reconsider" its moratorium on missile tests if "normalisation" talks with Japan fail to make progress.
The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying opening talks on normalising relations between the two oriental states last week in Kuala Lumpur were a failure and blamed Japan.
"Upon learning about the outcome of the talks, the relevant organs and people of the DPRK [North Korea] are becoming increasingly assertive that it is necessary to reconsider various points related to security including the nuclear and missile issues," the spokesman said.
"The DPRK should reconsider the moratorium on the missile test fire in case the talks on normalising the relations between the DPRK and Japan get prolonged without making any progress."
At a summit between Japanese Prime Minister Mr Junichiro Koizumi and North Korean leader Mr Kim Jong-Il in Pyongyang in September, North Korea agreed to extend the moratorium on missile tests.
Last week officials from Japan and North Korea opened normalisation talks in Kuala Lumpur but no progress was made as Japanese officials pressed the North over its nuclear weapons program and the kidnapping by North Korea of Japanese citizens.
North Korea is pressing Tokyo for an apology and $10 billion in compensation for Japan's colonial rule over the Korean peninsula from 1910-1945.
Japan normalised relations with South Korea in 1965, paying $500 million in compensation, and has been seeking to do the same for years with the communist North.
AFP