I've run into the same problem.
With KBear...Attempting FTP, I get no response at all. After clicking Connect, the window to the FTP site pops up, but is completely empty, and 'Not Connected' in the status bar. Attempting SSH, I get 'Connecting' then 'Initiating Protocol', but then it goes dead and again I get 'Not Connected' in the site's status bar.
I'm running KDE 3.2, with SuSE 9.0, I can connect just fine via Konquerer or gftp.