By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
North Korea blamed the Lee Myung-bak administration Thursday for its failure to keep inter-Korean agreements it signed with South Korea's previous liberal governments, while softening its stance on the United States.
In a joint editorial by North Korean media, regarded as the Stalinist regime's New Year's message, the North stressed its efforts to achieve denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and promote peace in Northeast Asia and the rest of the world, showing an eagerness to talk with a new U.S. government over its nuclear program.
``The inter-Korean efforts to promote exchanges and achieve unification came to a halt with the establishment of a conservative government in South Korea,'' said the editorial, which was jointly issued by the North's ruling party and military.
North Korea continued its acerbic criticism of the Lee administration, but made no hostile mention of Washington. It called the South Korean government ``pro-American forces that are obsessed with inter-Korean rivalry.''
North Korea also urged South Korea to follow the agreements signed between North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and South Korea's liberal leaders in 2000 and 2007 to promote inter-Korean cooperation.
``In last year's message, North Korea hoped for stronger inter-Korean ties, refraining from criticizing the Lee administration directly. Its stance on South Korea has become more hostile this year,'' said Kim Keun-sik, a professor from the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University. ``This year's message shows Pyongyang may move to exclude South Korea in multilateral talks on its nuclear program and other regional security issues, while enhancing relations with the United States.''
The editorial said North Korea's foreign policy was to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and defend the peace and security of Northeast Asia and the rest of the world. There was no criticism of joint military exercises regularly staged by South Korea and the U.S.
``Through the editorial, Pyongyang is trying to tell U.S. President-elect Barack Obama that it is eager to talk with the United States to resolve the nuclear issue,'' said Kim Yong-hyun, a professor in North Korean studies at Dongguk University. ``It is also an expression of its willingness to participate in efforts to deal with regional security issues.''
The New Year message also revived a post-war industrial campaign called the ``Chollima Movement'' initiated by the state's founder, the late Kim Il-sung, in 1956 after the Korean War, to mobilize its citizens for reconstruction.
The campaign called for ``all out efforts to achieve this year's target of grain production'' to solve the nation's food problems.
North Korea reaped 4.3 million tons of grain in 2008, up 7 percent from the previous year thanks to improved weather conditions, according to Seoul government data. Still, the United Nations World Food Program says nearly a quarter of its population of 23 million needs outside food aid to get through the winter.