Pyeongyang is flirting with Asian neighbors

Amid the tension on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea is seeking to strengthen its ties with China and Russia, and is sending a signal of reconciliation to Japan.

The North Korean leader Kim Jong-il met Wu Donghe, the new Chinese ambassador to North Korea, on Sunday and emphasized the importance of reinforcing amicable relations between the two countries, North Korea's official Central News Agency reported Sunday. Mr. Kim also met Konstantin Pulikov-sky, a Russian official, on Monday and Tuesday in Pyeongyang.

"North Korea must have shared its opinions with China and Russia about peninsular affairs after U.S. President George W. Bush's remark about the 'axis of evil,' " a source from the South Korean Foreign Ministry said. "Pyeongyang is considering playing the China and Russia cards."

While strengthening bonds with China and Russia, North Korea is trying to ease tensions with Japan. It repatriated Takashi Sugishima, 62, a former reporter of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, after more than two years of detention. Japan's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that Mr. Sugishima had been released unconditionally and arrived at Narita Airport through Beijing on Tuesday morning. Mr. Sugishima entered the North on Nov. 30, 1999, and was detained on charges of collecting information with his portable audio recorder and camera.

Pyeongyang is also solidifying internal unity; it imported 50,000 bottles of vodka to distribute to Worker's Party executives in celebration of Mr. Kim's birthday Saturday.

by Lee Young-jong