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N Korea softens tone against US

North Korea yesterday gave a rare positive appraisal of US President George W. Bush, welcoming his use of the title "Mr." when referring to leader Kim Jong Il and saying it hoped that the softened tone could lead to its return to international nuclear arms talks.

"If Bush's remarks put an end to the scramble between the hawkish group and the moderate group in the US, which has thrown the Korean policy into a state of confusion, it would help create an atmosphere of the six-party talks," an unnamed North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

The US wants the North to ends nuclear weapons development and joins China, Japan, Russia and South Korean in trying persuade Pyongyang to return to disarmament talks last held in June last year. The North has stayed away from the table citing a "hostile" US policy and claimed in February that it had nuclear weapons.

At a Tuesday news conference, Bush defended his focus on using diplomacy to try to resolve the standoff.

"It's a matter of continuing to send a message to Mr. Kim Jong Il that if you want to be accepted by the neighborhood and be a part of ... those who are viewed with respect in the world, work with us to get rid of your nuclear weapons program," Bush said.

The North said yesterday that it had noted Bush was reported as "politely addressing our headquarters of revolution," a reference to Kim.

The softer tone yesterday from the North came a day after it had labeled US Vice President Dick Cheney a "bloodthirsty beast" and said his recent comment labeling Kim an "irresponsible" leader were another reason for it to stay away from the nuclear talks.

This week, the North also took a personal swipe at US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, using sexist language laced with insults to imply she was controlling the White House. In the past, Pyongyang has also called Bush a "political imbecile" and "half-baked man."

The North has demanded an apology for Rice labeling the country one of the world's "outposts of tyranny."

On Friday, the North again asked for the US to make a "bold decision to withdraw the remark ... to remove the biggest hurdle lying in the way of resuming the six-party talks."

Meanwhile, the US ambassador to Japan said in Tokyo that a nuclear-armed North Korea would pressure Japan and South Korea to consider building their own atomic arsenals.

Ambassador Thomas Schieffer also cautioned that the North's return to the six-nation talks would be just the beginning of a long process to convince it abandon its weapons.

"We have to be very careful that getting North Korea back to the table does not become an end in itself," he said. "The six-party talks were meant to resolve a thorny issue -- they weren't meant to be just an opportunity to talk about it endlessly and achieve nothing."
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