'No plan' to talk to U.S., says the North

North Korea has no intention of talking to the United States, a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman declared Friday.

At Wednesday's Kim-Bush summit, the presidents of South Korea and the United States strongly urged the North to come out of the closet, but Pyeongyang flatly rejects the overture, North Korea's Central News Agency reported.

The Pyeongyang spokesman denounced remarks made by U.S. President George W. Bush about the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and his regime during Mr. Bush's tour of Japan, South Korea and China.

Pyeongyang's official mouthpiece accused Mr. Bush of infringing the sovereignty of the North and intervening in the internal affairs of another country.

"We have no plan to strike up friendship with Mr. Bush," the North Korean official asseverated. The report was the first official reaction of Pyeongyang on Mr. Bush's tour to Asia.

The message did not publicize Mr. Bush's visit to Seoul and made no criticism against the South. Observers said the reaction differed greatly from its response to the visit of U.S. President Bill Clinton to South Korea in November 1998. The North said then that Mr. Clinton's visit indicated a process toward war and that Seoul and Washington would be responsible for any unfortunate consequences.

"Despite Pyeongyang's negative reaction to talks with Washington, we can expect some positive development for inter-Korean dialogue," said Professor Koh Yu-hwan of Dongguk University.

Asked about the North Korean broadcast, a spokesman for South Korea's Unification Ministry said, "For the time being, we have no comment nor a plan to release one."

In hope of resuming inter-Korean dialogue before the end of March, Seoul decided Friday to propose talks as soon as possible. The last ministerial meeting between the Koreas broke down in November.

The South Korean government also called Friday on China, Russia and Japan for help in reopening inter-Korean dialogue through diplomatic channels. The government explained the outcome of the Kim-Bush summit to representatives of the three states separately and asked them to help explain the U.S.-Korean intention to meet Pyeongyang at the negotiating table.

by Oh Young-hwan