State Department officials in Washington are acknowledging that the WikiLeaks publication of thousands of classified diplomatic documents is making life more difficult for diplomats, even though U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said the release will not interfere in any way with U.S. diplomacy efforts.

State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters in Washington Thursday that Secretary Clinton has made a number of phone calls in recent days to express regret for the release of classified State Department cables.

"On Friday she talked to China, Germany, France, the U.K., Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia," said P.J. Crowley. "On Saturday, she talked to Canada. On Sunday, she talked to China again. "

And, Crowley said, in the past week Clinton has met with a number of her counterparts and made other phone calls, most recently to the presidents of Pakistan and Argentina, and a call earlier this week to the president of Liberia.

Clinton departed on a diplomatic trip to the Near East, Central Asia and Bahrain on Monday, the day after the WikiLeaks release began. Speaking in Kazakhstan Wednesday after a day of diplomatic meetings, Clinton said the massive leak would not interfere with diplomatic efforts.

" I have not had any concerns expressed about whether any nation will not continue to work with and discuss matters of importance to us both, going forward," said Hillary Clinton.

But, as Crowley pointed out at the State Department Thursday, officials in foreign capitals are now delving into the documents. Some cables reportedly contain less-than-flattering descriptions of world leaders' personal and professional lives.

"Countries, depending on what they've seen and what they've read, are reacting," he said. "We anticipate that for a period of time, some government officials that have talked to us freely in the past may be more reluctant. "

Crowley said diplomatic outreach is continuing, from high-profile calls placed by the secretary of state down the ranks to the deputy secretary, ambassador and counselor level at embassies around the world.

State Department officials have emphasized that policy is made in Washington and not in the diplomatic messages that are sent from embassies to the U.S. capital. They say the best way to evaluate U.S. policy is to look at U.S. policy and not candid cables.

WikiLeaks continues to release documents in batches, ensuring that the issue will not just blow over. For instance, a classified cable released Wednesday refers to Moscow as a "kleptocracy."

The State Department says it will not comment on what it says are alleged to be State Department cables, but Crowley acknowledged that people are indeed reacting negatively to the content of those messages.

" This is having an effect," admitted P.J. Crowley. "Undersecretary Bill Burns was on the Hill yesterday [Wednesday] and he made clear that this is going to make the conduct of diplomacy for a period of time more difficult. I mean, for human nature reasons, if none other. You know, we're not happy at the release of these documents, and I have no doubt that countries and leaders looking at the documents out of context are not happy, as well. "

Secretary of State Clinton is expected to continue conversations about WikiLeaks when she meets with counterparts in Bahrain.

South Korea has begun a fresh series of live-fire artillery exercises across the country. They are seen as a response to North Korea's shelling of a South Korean island, nearly two weeks ago.

As South Korea began a week of artillery drills across the country, the new defense minister ordered the military to exercise its right of self defense, should another attack be launched by North Korea.

Former Army general Kim Kwan-jin, who took office two days ago, told reporters Monday South Korea's military forces can immediately retaliate, if North Korea provokes first.

Park Syungje, at the Asia Strategy Institute, says the defense minister's statement is meant to make a distinction from the more cautious rules of engagement.

Park says the right-of-self-defense comment should deter North Korea from making additional attacks. He adds that South Korea is not expected to fire too closely to the disputed maritime boundary, known as the Northern Limit Line, during the current drills.

South Korean defense officials, contacted for interviews, would not comment on the precise locations where artillery will be fired into the troubled western waters.

It was in that area, during an artillery exercise by the South on November 23, that North Korea fired shells onto Yeonpyeong island.

On Monday, in Washington, the foreign ministers and other senior diplomats from South Korea and Japan are to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Officials here say the three countries will discuss the North Korean artillery attack and Pyongyang's nuclear programs, including its recently revealed uranium reprocessing operation.

After the November 23 attack on Yeonpyeong, South Korea's government and military faced domestic criticism for their slow and restrained response. The military did fire back artillery but aircraft were not sent to destroy the guns in North Korea which fired on the island.

Most of the 1,500 people living on the island fled to the mainland after the attack.

Monday, South Korea's prime minister vowed the government will do all it can to return life to normal on the battered island. Kim Hwang-Sik has announced $25 million in aid will be dispensed to displaced residents to help them rebuild destroyed homes. He also noted more troops and weaponry are being sent to Yeonpyeong and four other islands on the frontline.

The prime minister says that will allow South Korea to respond firmly to any further military provocation from the North.

Pyongyang has repeatedly taken aggressive action in waters near the Northern Limit Line, which it stresses it does not recognize as the sea border.

In its Sunday evening news broadcast, North Korean television warned the fresh South Korean artillery drills would bring the peninsula even closer to a state of war.

The announcer says such provocative madness is creating an uncontrollable, extreme and unpredictable situation. But she says North Korea, is, remaining cool-headed and in control.

The Yonhap news agency reports a South Korean presidential security panel has recommended that, in wake of the shelling of Yeonpyeong, the number of marines be doubled. The South Korean marines are a key force for the defense of the country's western border islands. The policy suggestions, according to the news service, include halting the reduction of how long those conscripted into the military are required to serve. In South Korea, a period of military service is compulsory for all physically fit men to complete between the ages of 19 and 30.

Pakistani officials say two suicide bombers in the northwestern tribal belt have killed at least 50 people and wounded 100 others in an attack on an anti-Taliban committee meeting.

Authorities say Monday's twin blasts happened inside the compound of a top local government official in the Mohmand tribal region. The top political official in the region, Amjad Ali Khan, said the alleged suicide bombers attacked his office in the town of Ghalanai, where where tribal elders and top officials were meeting.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

The Pakistani army has been fighting insurgents in Mohmand, but has been unable to defeat Taliban and al-Qaida linked groups.

Militant groups have been targeting local tribesman, who have been encouraged by the military to form militias against insurgents.

U.S. President Barack Obama is calling on lawmakers to help him boost the economy with a new trade deal and compromises on tax cuts.

Speaking Saturday to promote a new trade deal with South Korea, Mr. Obama called for speedy ratification of the pact in Congress.

He said the deal reached Friday after three years of stalemate could increase annual exports of American goods by up to $11 billion and create tens of thousands of jobs.

"I look forward to working with Congress and leaders in both parties to approve this pact because if there is one thing Democrats and Republicans should be able to agree on it should be creating jobs and opportunities for our people," he said.

But Mr. Obama expressed disappointment Republicans in the Senate blocked measures Saturday to make tax cuts passed by former president George W. Bush permanent for the middle class.

"Those provisions should have passed," said the president. "I continue to believe that it makes no sense to hold tax cuts for the middle class hostage to permanent tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent of Americans, especially when those high income tax cuts would cost an additional $700 billion that we do not have and would add to our deficit. But with so much at stake, today's votes cannot be the end of the discussion."

Republican lawmakers who voted against the initiative by Mr. Obama's Democratic Party want to make tax cuts permanent for all Americans, including the wealthiest. Republicans say this would help create jobs.

In the Republican weekly address, Illinois Senator Mark Kirk said the president and lawmakers should listen to voters who in November gave Republicans huge gains for the new Congress starting next year.

"These leaders should not raise taxes and risk another recession. Instead, Congress should reduce spending and prevent another tax hike on American taxpayers. Americans already pay some of the highest taxes in the world," he said.

If no compromise is found, current tax rates would expire for all Americans at the end of the year.

White House officials and a select group of lawmakers have been meeting over the past several days in an attempt to forge a compromise. Discussion points now include temporarily extending income tax rates, as well as extending jobless aid for the long-term unemployed, which are also starting to run out.

The struggling economy, including unemployment hovering near 10 percent, has recently been the main focus for the outgoing Democratic Party-dominated Congress, which will be replaced by a Republican majority House of Representatives and slim Democratic majority Senate in 2011.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says the government will seize private land and tourist resorts to house the thousands of people made homeless by the worst flooding in 40 years.

Mr. Chavez ordered the government to seize nearly 36 hectares of privately owned land near the national airport and authorized the building of thousands of housing units.

He also authorized officials to take over unused hotel rooms and tourist resorts.

At least 32 people have died and more than 70,000 left homeless by flooding due to heavy rains in recent days.