DDI Corp., a major long-distance telephone carrier in Japan, said Thursday that it will seek to earn group sales of 1.51 trillion yen and group pretax profits of 130 billion yen in the 2001 business year.In its medium-term management plan, the group, which posted consolidated sales of 1.02 trillion yen in the 1996 business year, which ended last March, aims to expand its business by providing new offerings such as international services and phone services via satellites owned by Iridium LLC of the United States.This fall, the group will launch a new phone and data service internationally by connecting its system with about 70 Iridium satellites that circle the Earth longitudinally. "By integrating its four core services of long-distance, cellular phone, personal handy-phone systems and Iridium services, we will provide all-around services for our customers," DDI President Yusai Okuyama told reporters.By the end of the 2001 business year, the group hopes to have 150,000 phone users and 150,000 pager users employing the new Iridium satellite system, and aims to post 50 billion yen in sales from this business.The DDI group forecasts its international phone business will grow to 30 billion yen in sales by the 2001 business year.