N. Korea to improve ties with U.S., get tougher on S. Korea: report

SEOUL, Jan. 2 (Yonhap) -- North Korea demonstrated its commitment to
denuclearization and improved relations with the United States through its New
Year message, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper in Japan said Friday.
The communist state, however, has no intention of budging on inter-Korean
relations and the current stalemate will likely continue, said Choson Sinbo, a
Korean newspaper in Japan widely seen as reflecting the views of North Korea.
In a joint editorial that conveyed its policy goals for 2009, Pyongyang hurled
acerbic criticism against Seoul but eschewed its usual offensive against
Washington. To "denuclearize the Korean Peninsula" is the North's policy, and
Pyongyang "will develop relations with the countries friendly toward us," the
editorial said.
Choson Sinbo attributed the North's softened stance toward the U.S. to
Washington's removal of Pyongyang from a terrorism blacklist in 2008.
"There was no immediate change in the conditions of (North Korean) international
economic activities (after the delisting), but it's a fact that the U.S. has made
a first step toward a policy shift," the newspaper said.
Being on the U.S. list of terrorism sponsoring nations blocked the North from
accessing low-interest loans from international lenders like the World Bank and
the International Monetary Fund. The North was first put on the list for its
alleged role in the 1987 bombing of a South Korean airliner that killed all 115
people abroad.
Washington delisted Pyongyang in October after it agreed to resume the disabling
of its Yongbyon nuclear reactor and allow inspectors to return to the site, as
pledged under a 2007 denuclearization deal.
"The joint editorial demonstrates the (North's) position that it will improve
relations with enemy nations on the principle of independence by continuing to
push forward the current denuclearization process," Choson Sinbo said.
South Korea, however, saw in the North's New Year message an intensified
offensive. The editorial accused Seoul of being "steeped in pro-U.S. sycophancy
and hostility towards fellow countrymen."
Pyongyang suspended dialogue last year in retaliation against Seoul's
conservative Lee Myung-bak government.
"No matter how (the Lee government) rehearses kind but hollow words," Choson
Sinbo said, Pyongyang's hardline stance will continue until Seoul "implements the
'between-ourselves' spirit, which is the basic idea of the summit declarations."
North Korea insists the South first promise to implement economic aid projects
agreed to in summits in 2000 and 2007, while South Korea is urging the North to
first resume dialogue.
Unification Minister Kim Ha-joong said cross-border relations will be "far
tougher and more complicated" in the new year than in 2008.
In his New Year message, Kim urged Pyongyang to stop its verbal offensive against
Seoul's president and lift sanctions on inter-Korean exchanges.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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