N. Korea`s No.2 says Pyongyang seeks `fruitful ties` with Hatoyama gov`t

PYONGYANG, Sept. 10 Kyodo -
North Korea's No. 2 leader called Thursday for ''fruitful relations'' with the
incoming administration of Yukio Hatoyama, saying Pyongyang-Tokyo ties will
solely depend on how it tackles issues such as compensation for Japan's
1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
In an interview with Kyodo News in Pyongyang, Kim Yong Nam, president of the
Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, denied foreign media reports that
say top leader Kim Jong Il has already picked his third son, Kim Jong Un, as
his heir apparent. ''We haven't even had discussion on such an issue in our
country,'' he said.
Suggesting there is no problem with the top leader's health, he said Kim Jong
Il directs activity of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, the government and
the military ''with an abundance of energy.''
On relations with Japan, Kim Yong Nam indicated that Pyongyang will closely
watch Democratic Party of Japan leader Hatoyama's policy stance on North Korea
as prime minister, saying, ''The prospect of (North) Korea-Japan relations will
solely depend on the attitude of the Japanese government.''
''If (Japan) respects the Pyongyang Declaration, seriously settles the
unfortunate past based on it and resolves (other) issues of concern, while
setting fruitful relations in political, economic, cultural and other areas
that benefit both sides, (such initiatives) would not only match the wishes of
the people in both countries but secure peace and stability in Northeast
Asia,'' he said.
He was referring to a declaration signed in 2002 between Kim Jong Il and then
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi during their talks in Pyongyang, in
which the two governments committed themselves to work toward normalizing ties.
A tripartite coalition government led by the heretofore main opposition DPJ,
which advocates closer ties with other Asian countries, will be launched after
Hatoyama is voted in as prime minister at a special parliamentary session next
Wednesday.
Kim Yong Nam criticized what North Korean officials call Japan's ''hostile''
policy toward Pyongyang orchestrated by incumbent Prime Minister Taro Aso's
Liberal Democratic Party, which suffered a crushing defeat in the Aug. 30
general election.
''We oppose the Japanese government's unfair policy on (North) Korea but we are
by no means against the Japanese people,'' he said.
North Korean officials say bilateral relations under Aso's government have
fallen to the worst level. They point to Japan's recent actions such as
strengthening bilateral sanctions, asking the United States not to remove North
Korea from its list of terrorist sponsors, and leading U.N. Security Council
talks to slap stricter sanctions on Pyongyang in response to its rocket launch
last April.
Asked about foreign media reports on a potential successor to the North Korean
leader, Kim Yong Nam called them ''groundless.''
''We think that part of foreign media run (such reports) in an attempt to
stifle our rise and prosperity,'' he said. ''Currently, our people are in firm
solidarity around (Workers' Party of Korea) General Secretary Kim Jong Il...to
defend our republic and our socialism.''
==Kyodo