Defense Minister Kim Jang-soo on Saturday asked the international community to be more patient in trying to resolve the prolonged standoff over North Korea's nuclear program, adding that the security situation on the Korean Peninsula remains stable, despite the deadlock.

Kim said in a keynote speech at the sixth Asia Security Summit that the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula will move forward stably when all six-party talks countries embrace a patient and cooperative posture in managing the North Korean nuclear issue.

His remarks came just after U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned in a speech here that Washington's patience on North Korea is not unlimited.

The annual forum has brought together defense chiefs from a dozen Asia-Pacific, European and North American countries, including Kim and Gates. North Korea is not a member of the forum.

International efforts to end North Korea's nuclear program have been stalled since April because of the North's refusal to shut down its main nuclear reactor as it agreed Feb. 13 in a deal with South Korea, the U.S., China, Japan and Russia.

The North insists that it will uphold its end of the bargain only after it gets back 25 million dollars of its funds frozen at Banco Delta Asia, a Macao-based bank blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury for alleged money-laundering.

Although the North Korean funds have been unblocked, the communist country has yet to withdraw them. Still, U.S. officials remain optimistic that the banking problem will be resolved in the near future.